New Kids in Town
by It's-A-Passion
Summary: This is Grace's story. Daughter of a military man who's never home and friends with a budding physics theorist, a perpetually late closet wannabe-author and America's future sporting legend, she's always known she wanted to be a teacher. But she never factored in a boy who makes her question that plan while also making her palms sweat and her heart race. CharlieOC.
1. Chapter 1

I pulled up into the same car park I had for the last year, turning off the engine and pulling my long wavy hair into a ponytail. I was in a bad mood. My alarm clock hadn't gone of this morning and because I didn't want to be late, I had skipped breakfast and a shower. So now, by second period I would be a starving, cranky, grumpy mess. I sighed and grabbed my bag before getting out and locking the car. It was a present from my dad, a bribing gift you could call it. Something, he supposed, that would make up for his near constant absence from the house, and my life. It wasn't surprising really, that he spent so much time away from me. It was required of him. A part of the job description. But it did get lonely, being stuck in a house all by yourself.

I glanced around the parking lot and inwardly groaned when I saw Jared, the school bully. And my ex-boyfriend. It surprises even me when I remember that I dated him two years ago for almost a whole year. He got involved in the 'wrong' crowd and I couldn't keep him away, so I ended it. Now, he hates me, less surprisingly. Dating him for almost a year had given me a courage that let me stand up to him. I wouldn't have had that if I didn't. so, in a way, despite our falling out and despite him becoming a total dickhead, it was good for me. The experience was good for me. Because now, he is the one person I don't take shit from, one of the few people who I don't care if I am rude to.

A car I had never seen before pulled up beside Jared's', who was sitting on the bonnet with a group of his idiot friends. And judging from the stench of smoke I could smell even from my position ten meters away, he was smoking. Oh, God, he was going to end up with lung cancer.

The new car, that is, new in the sense that I had never seen it before, pulled up to a stop. Indeed, the car was definitely not new and looked like it would need the extra TLC.

"What is that?" I heard Jared ask to no one in particular, the scorn evident in his voice. As the owners got out of the car doors squeaked, as if proving it's age. A boy and a girl got out, the girl was definitely younger than me, by about two years, with straight shoulder-length hair. The guy looked to be about my age; he was tall with a mop of shaggy dark brown hair and light blue eyes. He wasn't lanky as you would expect from a guy so tall, he was well-muscled and lean. He was about an inch or two shorter than Jared, but he was filled out in all the right places, whereas Jared was mainly lanky.

"Moooo," he laughed at them snarkily which was promptly followed by hysterical laughter from the try-too-hard girl next to him. Cindy, I think her name is.

And that was the snapping point for me. I was already on a short fuse due to sleep deprivation, hunger and the right to general hygiene, so it wasn't so shocking that it took me all of one minute before I snapped. But it was definitely a new record for me.

The sneer on Jared's face was all I needed to make up my mind. I charged towards him.

He never used to be like this, like such an asshole. He _used _to actually be nice, he _used _to say hi to people in the corridors. But ever since he became a part of that group, no, leading that group, he morphed into the dickhead he is now. Now he's just mean and the only interaction he will have with you in the corridors is if he sticks out his leg and trips you. It needs to stop.

I reached them as the new girl retorted, "He must be the funniest guy in the herd."

Honestly, I was proud of her and I instantly liked her. She was the new girl but she was sticking up for herself. Way to go her.

"Your mouth is getting too big for its muzzle, Jared," I snapped at him. He turned to me with a glare, distaste clearly displayed.

"Shut up Grace and mind your own business."

"Are you really going to do this? Again? Doesn't it get tiring being such a dickhead all the time?" I taunted. Later, when I got home I would admit to myself that I secretly liked insulting him. It gave me an excuse to put my wit to good use. Not to mention that his building anger was amusing to watch.

"Why are you such a bitch?" he asked, seemingly happy to be able to call me a name, even one as unoriginal as 'bitch'.

"I'll tell you what, I'll try being nicer if you try being smarter."

He stood up then, hate shining out, and moved closer to me, invading my personal space. I stood my ground and gave off the air of indifference. He didn't scare me.

"I swear, if you weren't-"

"What?" I cut him off, "if I wasn't half your size? Half your height, your weight? Triple your IQ? Because guess what? Whether it is a verbal or physical fight, I'd win. So sit back down, why don'tcha and save yourself the humiliation." He ignored me and continued to glare.

"If I throw a stick, will you leave?" I asked, smiling sweetly. That threw him for a sec, confusion written on his face.

"The wheel is turning but the hamster is definitely dead," I laughed. His moment of confusion passed and his glare returned full-force. I don't know if he understood the implied meaning but he definitely got that I was making fun of him. He took a couple of steps back from me, not surrendering, just trying to move away from me.

"Keep talking, someday you'll say something intelligent," he snapped, clearly glad that he thought of a comeback.

"I am so disappointed in you right now. Is that the best you got? How… uninspired" I sighed and shook my head, "My intelligence is wasted on you."

"You think you are so smart, but really all you are is a try hard." That got my attention. How dare he? Who does he think he is, calling me a try hard? He succeeded in pissing me off.

"As opposed to you?" I barked at him. I looked at his friends as well, incorporating them. "You all lie back and act so cool, like you are just _too _cool for school. You don't try, you don't even care. You cruise through school with your I-don't-give-a-damn attitude and couldn't-care-less behaviour, but at the end of it all, you're the ones who will end up with the third-rate jobs. You're all going to end up as janitors at school just like this, cleaning up after kids just like you. Maybe then you'll realise."

I took a deep breath and they just rolled their eyes at me. "You are good at what you do, Jared, but all you do is put people down."

"And you're just a school newspaper reporter," the blonde girl, Cindy, finally spoke up.

I just looked at her. "Wow," I said slowly. Jared sat back down next to her and she moved a little closer to him. "The moron and the bimbo. I fear for your children."

She jumped up and came at me, "Bitch," she hissed. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Honestly, I was so sick of their bullshit. A year of anger at their actions and cutting words has obviously just built up and up to this day.

I looked at her threateningly, "Let me tell you something. I didn't come here looking for a fight," okay, that wasn't entirely true, "but if you have a bark boy, you'd better have a bite."

And with that I turned away, walking towards the front doors of the school. The new boy was still standing there, looking at me. I couldn't read the expression on his face. Suddenly, I turned back to Jared.

"And FYI," I said as the turned to look at me. "You shouldn't make fun of people's cars. You know what they say about guys who drive needlessly flashy cars? They're overcompensating for something," I grinned at him and held up my hand, wiggling my pinkie finger at him. He definitely understood that. I placed my hand on the new guy's car and continued on, "But this car, this, is a real man's car. It says that the driver knows how to look after it, and probably do most of the maintenance himself instead of getting daddy to take it to a repairs place. He's not overcompensating for anything."

I couldn't keep the smug grin off my face as I walked to the doors of the school. I nearly laughed I was in such a better mood. I should have a go at them more often. And maybe I would if I wasn't so quiet most of the time. Distantly I heard a car alarm go off and more laughter but I didn't pay much attention to it. I had to get to my locker and get my books for first period. I made it up the stairs and to the door before a hand grabbed my shoulder.

"Hey," said an unfamiliar voice. I spun around and looked at him, the new guy. He was smiling sheepishly and I would never admit it but I think my heart melted. He had the most amazing smile.

"Hey, uh, thanks for that," uncertainty in his voice.

I laughed nervously, "Yeah, that's okay. High school is hard enough without people like them making it worse."

"Well, thank you."

"No problem. I know what it's like to be the new kid at school. Try not to let Jared get to you though." I turned to leave.

"Hey, wait. Could you show me where the reception desk is?" the side of his mouth lifted into a half smile. His smile made me smile.

"Yeah, it's this way," I gestured down the hallway. "I just have to stop at the newspaper room. I printed some stuff off yesterday but I forgot to grab it."

"Sure, no problem."

"I'm Grace, by the way."

"Charlie Baker," he nodded at me.

There was a moment of silence which I really didn't want to turn into an awkward silence, so I started talking.

"How are you liking Evanston?" he didn't say anything. "That bad, huh?"

"No, it's just… I didn't want to move. My life was in Midlan."

"That's understandable, but life is about change, you can either accept it and live your life, or you can dwell on used-to-be's."

"Is that from experience?"

"You have no idea," we stopped outside a room that said NEWSPAPER on it. We went inside and I walked over to the printer.

"Wow, this is a nice office," he said, looking over at the desks with computers on them, each one decorated with personal items. Each member of the editorial team had their own desk.

"This isn't an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting. A cubicle is just a padded cell without a door," I stated and he chuckled, which made me laugh too. "I think I'm going to quit."

"Why?" He asked.

"I don't know, it's just not me anymore." I lead him out of the room and back down the corridor we came, turning left. People were rushing about everywhere, stopping in the hallway, slamming locker doors; it was a mad house.

"Too many freaks, not enough circuses," I muttered to myself, but I was fairly positive I saw him grin out of the corner of my eye.

We came to a stop outside a door that said ADMINISTRATION on it.

"Here you are, the admin room. Just tell Fiona that you're new and she'll help you out. See you around Charlie Baker."

"Thanks," he said before walking in the room. He turned back to look at me, "Maybe I'll see you around."

"It's likely," I grinned before walking down to my locker.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading!<strong>

**Let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

Mr Thracky paced the room, walking up and down the aisle between the desks and gesturing wildly with his hands. "…And for that reason, Cleisthenes was labelled as the "Father of Democracy". His reforms greatly _assisted_ in the foundation of a democratic nation and were pivotal in the development of a self-governing basis for Athens. Can anyone tell me what these reforms were the result of?" He looked expectantly at the class. When no one offered an answer, his enthusiastic smile dropped a little. "Anyone at all?"

Ancient History was my favourite subject, probably because Mr Thracky was so excited in his lessons. He made the political reforms and battles of the ancient world seem interesting and he could paint a picture in our minds of what the civilisation was like. When he spoke, he animated with his hands, gesturing around the room and he was passionate about teaching. But honestly, what did he expect? It was the first day back at school after the holidays and it was a Monday morning. I stifled a yawn and tried to ignore how heavy my eyelids were. Diligently, I wrote notes, neatly writing the notes he'd scrawled on the board in his nearly indecipherable script.

"Did anyone even read the chapters I assigned you over the holidays?" he sighed. He got no answer from the class, nobody even stirred. "Come on people, think about it. What would he have to believe in to start up democratic-like reforms?" he tried, in vain, to coax an answer out of the practically lifeless class. I glanced around. No one seemed willing to put the poor teacher out of his misery, so I raised my hand.

His smile returned full blast when he saw me, the gusto returning back to his face, written in the lines around his eyes and mouth as he gestured for me to answer. I cleared my throat, "Uh, were they a result of-"

He cut me off, "Don't ask a question; tell me the answer." I'd forgotten how annoying that was when he cut you off. I naturally answered a question with a question and he always told us not to do that. Honestly though, who was he to be picky? Did he want me to answer the question or not?

I tried a again, "His reforms were the result of his belief that all citizens should participate in the working of the government, a desire for isonomia, and because he was a political reformer." I had read the chapters he set us during the holidays.

"Yes! Perfect! Exactly right, well done Grace," he cried out in mirth. Where did he get the energy to be this bubbly so early in the morning? "Now, who can tell me what isonomia is?"

"Someone who can't sleep," a boy called out from the back.

Mr Thracky tried to supress his laughter, "Uh, no, that's an _insomniac_. But it sounds similar so I would say you're justified in your answer. Anyone else?" Again, no one was forth coming with an answer.

I sighed, raising my hand again. Maybe I was the only one who read those chapters, "Isonomia is the equality of all citizens before the law."

"Right again," he turned and wrote it on the board. "If anyone doesn't know what isonomia is, I suggest you copy the definition down. Now, why were his actions so out-of-place, or radical, as some might have seen it?"

He looked around the class, impatiently tapping his foot against the linoleum floor. I figured, what the hell?, I may as well answer this question too.

"Because he was a noble Athenian of the Alcmaeonid family."

"Why is it that Grace is the only one answering my questions?" he called out, glaring at the class in a joking way.

"Because she's a know it all," a boy, John, called out from the back of the room.

I spun around in my seat. "Right, I forgot, being a 'know it all' to you is someone who actually _does_ the assigned work," annoyance spilled out in my tone. John just sat back in his chair; his mud caked combat boots resting on the desk where his notebook and pen should be.

"Why do the assigned work when you're a walking, talking textbook? If I need to know something, I'll just ask you," he winked at me, that smug, self-satisfied smirk present on his face. I'd forgotten how annoying that was as well.

Glaring at him, I opened my mouth to retort when Mr Thracky cut in. "Children, children, break it up. or should I say young adults? Let's get back to the topic at hand. Now, who can tell me why there was an uproar after the coup of Peisistratus?"

Throwing one last withering look at John, I turned back around and promptly answered the next question, "Because Cleisthenes and Isagoras were both vying for control, and the masses had to decide between political reforms or the perseverance of the oligarchy."

"Right again. Now, Isagoras became archon in…." Mr Thracky trailed off as the bell rang over the loud speaker, signalling the end of class. There was a mad scrambling about as people shoved their books into their bags and zipped up pencil cases in a bid for the door. "Everybody freeze!" he yelled and everyone stopped moving. "For homework I want you to read those chapters I set you from the textbook so that next lesson it won't be just Grace answering my questions; you can all participate in the _class_ discussion. As well, your next assignment will be an essay, so during the next lesson we will spend ten minutes going through the structure of an essay for those of you who have forgotten how to write one. Or, for those of you who didn't hand in the last essay and thus, don't know how to write one either. And yes, I am talking about you John." John just stayed in his seat, looking unperturbed and indifferent. "Now you may leave."

I gathered my books in my arms and hastily walked out the door to my next lesson. Behind me, I heard someone yelling my last name and I groaned when I recognised the voice. "Oi! Kent!" I heard feet slap against the floor as John caught up to me. "Are you ignoring me, Kent?"

"I don't appreciate having you yell at me from down the corridor," I continued walking, making John match my fast-paced strides. He didn't even notice. John was by far the most annoying boy I'd ever met. I think he existed just to annoy me. You could sum him up in just one hyphenated word: Jack-ass, however there were plenty of other ways to describe him, like jerk, or dickhead, or asshole, or pig. And those were just a couple running through my mind now. When he continued to walk beside me, in the opposite direction to what I knew was his next class, I paused. "Is there something you wanted?"

He stopped as well, letting his eyes travel over me in an over exaggerated manner, making sure I saw him. "There're plenty of things I want."

"Ugh!" I said in disgust, spinning around and continuing to my next class. "You are such a pig."

He laughed and just caught up to me, his long legs making up the distance easily. "Don't be like that," he laughed again.

"I'm busy now, can I ignore you some other time?" I snapped at him. "Beside, your classroom is on the other side of the school."

"I didn't know you cared enough to memorise my timetable, Kent," he grinned at me, winking again.

"No, I just know the 'Math for Dummies' class is in R2. Have you ever considered suing your brains for non-support?" I mocked.

"Are you calling me stupid?" he asked, looking for all the world like I was amusing him.

"No, calling you stupid would be an insult to stupid people," I said.

"You're being rude, Kent. Hasn't anyone ever taught you any manners?" he continued to walk with me to my trigonometry classroom. No matter what I said, it just seemed to bounce off him; I couldn't get him to leave me alone.

"I'm not being rude, you're just insignificant." We neared my classroom and I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "As fun as this has been, I have somewhere I need to be," I gestured at the open door. I went to walk away but he grabbed my arm.

"Hey. Kelly wanted me to say hi to you for her," he admitted grudgingly. I felt my eyes soften; Kelly, John's little sister, was, put simply, a ball of cuteness. She goes to the middle school, and I used to tutor her through the service our school offers to their school. No one could resist her wide blue eyes and springy red curls.

"Tell her I say hi back," I told him. He still gripped my arm, so I squinted at him, trying to figure him out. People walked around us, trying to get into the classroom.

He released my arm, the smirk coming back, "What are you doing?" he asked, watching me squint at him.

"I'm trying to imagine you _with_ a personality." And with that, I walked in to the classroom and away from him.

Trigonometry class always passed in a blur; there was so much work we had to cover, that there were no breaks or opportunities to doze off or tune out. Mr Herbshire had the whole class working from the moment the bell went to signify everyone should be in class, to the bell telling everyone class had ended. He then proceeded to give us homework on our first day back. Talk about unfair.

I hurried down the corridors, realising I'd left my English book in my locker. Spotting my locker, I spun the dial, putting in my code and opening it. I stared at the inside of my neat locker, trying to spot the bright green spiralbound book but I kept getting distracted by a commotion to my left. Finally, I spotted it and I grabbed the allusive book, shutting my locker. I admit, I was curious, so I went to take a look at the commotion. I saw Cindy, Jared's friend, and Nicole and Mandy standing in front of a shorter girl with dead-straight blonde hair. I recognised her as the new girl from the parking lot. This couldn't be good. I walked over, noticing I seemed to have a habit of helping out the new kids.

"Is there a problem?" I asked, standing next to the new girl.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Cindy glared at me.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring her, and turned to the new girl. "Would you like me to show you to your next classroom?"

She nodded, still looking at Cindy. I grabbed her arm and walked off, not really sure where I was supposed to be showing her to. "Whatever they said to you, just ignore it. Everyone else does."

"Yeah. I'm Lorraine, by the way," she said.

"Grace. So…what's your next class?"

"Oh, right. I have geography in room B4," she said from behind her timetable. I stopped walking.

"That's actually right here," I said, gesturing to the door we just walked past.

"Oh. Well, thanks," she smiled.

"No problem. See you around Lorraine."

I hurried to my own class then, English. As I walked in, I saw a familiar orange cap at the seat I usually sat at, in the back corner next to the window. Walking over, I sat down next to him, "You're in my seat," I smiled.

"Is your name on it?" he replied, raising an eyebrow. My grin widened, but I said nothing as the teacher walked in at exactly the moment the bell rang. Mrs Stiles was nothing, if not efficient. "Good Morning class. Today I understand we have a new student, Charlie Baker. I'm sure you'll make him welcome. Today, I thought we'd start off with a little exercise," she said, holding up a jar with folded bits of paper in it. "Everyone needs to take a slip of paper." The jar was passed around as people took out slips and sat them on their desk.

"Katrina, what does the word 'Dog' mean to you?" Mrs Stiles asked. Katrina, my best friend, walked through the door. She was my best friend and I loved her dearly, but that girl was always late; if she didn't have her head screwed on, she'd forget it.

Katrina's cheeks turned pink as she made her way to the empty seat next to me, "Um, an animal?"

"Okay, Jason, what does it mean to you?"

"A pet," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Mrs Stiles nodded. "Lisa?"

"A friend or companion? Someone who's loyal."

"Right, so a near-human, you're saying. An animal who you can talk to or confide in as if they're human. Josh?"

"Something that barks all night and won't let me go to sleep," he yawned, stretching over his chair.

"Right. So you can see how different words have different meanings to different people. It's all in their background, why people think a certain way, or do a certain thing a certain way. This can be scene, for example, in people's morning routines. What do you do when you get up in the morning? Shout it out."

"Have a shower."

"Breakfast."

"Brush my hair."

"Brush my teeth."

"Wake my brother up."

"Get changed."

Mrs Stiles held up her hands in an 'that's enough' gesture. "Do you see what I mean? Why do you all do different things? Because that's what you've been taught, by your parents, generally. Your parents are your background. So, if we apply this to a particular word, say, Lion, what do you think?"

"A zoo."

"Snoozes."

"Africa."

"Right, but what if you were to ask a little boy, living in Africa near open plains, the same question? What would he say?"

No one said anything, shrugging and looking at each other.

"Fear, maybe?" Mrs Stiles asked us. There were nods of agreement. "Danger? Do you see how your initial reaction to a word can be totally different given your context?" she clasped her hands together and sat on her desk, "So, you should each have a slip of paper with a word on it. I want you to compile a meaning of the word from different sources. A dictionary, your friends, little children, your parents, yourself, your grandparents. We'll see what you come up with. Now, another word? How about 'Shopping'?"

I stopped listening to the class talk and looked down at my paper. I unfolded and looked at the cursive handwriting written inside. _Love._ I had to get definitions on love? I flipped open a page in my notebook and wrote 'Love' at the top of the page. What did love mean to me? _An emotion,_ I wrote. _A feeling. An all-consuming feeling that drives people insane. An experience. A…._

The bell rang, and packed my belongings away. I had lunch now; almost halfway through the day. I only had to last another three or four hours.

"What word did you get?" Katrina asked me.

"Love. What about you?"

"Water. How am I supposed to work with that?" she made a face. I laughed.

"Use your brain, you'll come up with something."

"Yeah, right. Well, hello there. Who's this?" Katrina asked in a completely different tone of voice. She was looking over my shoulder undoubtedly at Charlie, the new kid. I glanced at him and he looked up from packing up his stuff.

"Katrina, this is Charlie, Charlie, Katrina. He's new," I said to Katrina. "What word did you get?" I asked him.

"Family."

"See, now that I could work with. But water? I should complain, let Mrs Stiles know just how unhappy I am with this."

"Kat, let it go. Let's get some food in you before you start hallucinating," I steered her to the door. I waved at Charlie. He waved back.

"Oh, my God." Kat breathed in my ear, slowing down and turning around. "He is gorgeous." Her eyes were glued to Charlies back as he walked in the opposite direction. Or, should I say, his butt.

"Kat?"

"Yeah," she breathed.

"You're gawking. And drooling on your new shoes."

"What?" she glanced down. I laughed and kept walking to the cafeteria.

"You are so gullible."

"I like to think of it as trusting."

"I'm sure," I rolled my eyes.

"Come on, how can you not see how hot he is? Did you not see his perfectly formed ass walking? Do you even have eyes?"

I laughed and shook my head pityingly at her. "Yes, I saw it, and it's amazing, but some people just aren't as obvious as you."

"You saw his ass? When? I didn't even see you look!"

"That's because I've perfected the art or look-lookaway. Plus, you were busy gaping."

"Was not."

"Was too."

"Was not!"

"I am not going to fight with you over this."

"Okay, let's talk about something else. Like, oh, I don't know, what did John want outside your trig class?"

"How-how did you even know about that?"

"I know everything that goes on at this school."

"You should write a gossip segment in the newspaper."

"Stop trying to change the subject. That boy likes you, like, really, _likes_ you."

"Oh, come off it! that boy is living proof that man can live without a brain!" I said, annoyed. "He doesn't like me, he just likes annoying me. Not matter what I tell myself-"

I was cut off by a snide voice, "You just can't stop thinking about me." Speak of the devil.

"This is a private conversation. Go annoy someone else," I glared.

But he just grinned, throwing his arm over my shoulder. I shook it off. "Ah, I missed you."

"Well, honestly, I preferred your absence."

"You want me and you know it," he wiggled his eyebrows at me. The silver piercing in his eyebrow caught the light.

"In your dreams."

"Actually, you've starred in plenty of them."

I felt heat rise in my cheeks and I clenched my jaw. "You perverted, disgusting, revolting, sickening Neanderthal!" I moved to the other side of Kat. "Get away from me."

He laughed, "See you around Kent." He walked off.

Kat laughed, "See?"

"I used to think he was a big pain in my neck. Now, I have a much lower opinion of him," I muttered darkly. "If I lose it one day and kill him, will you help me move the body?"

"You know I would," she laughed at my grumpy expression.

"Thanks."

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><p><strong>Okay, so i know it's taken me foreve to update, and there isn't much CharliexOC interaction, but i hope you liked it anyway.<strong>

**Thank you to AmberRedRose for PMing me and asking, in a very polite way, to get a move on with this chapter; so here it is.**

**Also, a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed! They mean a lot to me. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"So, are you coming to the movies tonight?" Kat asked me as I reversed out of the car park.

"I can't. I'm working," I told her, getting in line with all the other cars wanting to get as far away from the school as possible.

Kat sighed, "Which brat are you tutoring now?"

"Kat, what have I told you about calling little children brats?"

"I don't seem to recall…"

I shook my head at her, "Just forget it. I'm not tutoring; I'm working at the café."

"Still? With the crazy bat lady? I thought you were going to quit," she said, glancing at me from checking her painted nails.

"No. you wanted me to quit. I said I was going to stick with it until I didn't have time anymore. Remember?" I pulled out of the car park, heading in the direction of Kat's house.

"I'll tell you what. How about we play scissors paper rock. If you win, I'll lay off about you working for a cow. If I win, you have to quit," she held up her fist.

"No way."

"Scared you might lose?"

"No."

"Then come on!" she said impatiently. Keeping my eyes on the road, I moved my hand over.

"One, two, three," I looked over. She had made a rock while I had chosen paper. "I win."

"This is so stupid, I mean, I understand that Scissors can beat Paper, and I get how Rock can beat Scissors, but there's no way Paper can beat Rock. Is Paper supposed to magically wrap around Rock leaving it immobile? If so, why can't paper do this to scissors? Screw scissors, why can't paper do this to people? Why aren't sheets of ruled notebook paper constantly suffocating students as they attempt to take notes in class? I'll tell you why, because paper can't beat anybody, a rock would tear that thing up in two seconds. From now on, when I play Rock, Paper, Scissors, I'll always choose rock. Then when somebody claims to have beaten me with their paper I can punch them in the face with my ready made fist and say, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought paper would protect you!""

"Oh, my God, don't burst a vessel. It's just a game. Even if you had won, I wouldn't have quit. I think you're suffering from insanity," I told her, glancing at her worriedly.

"I'm not suffering from insanity; I'm loving every minute of it," she pouted at me.

I snorted at her, shaking my head, "You _are_ crazy."

She grinned at me and turned the radio on, "Oh, I love this song," she squealed as a song by One Direction came on. I reached over, turning it to another station.

"New rule. If I'm going to drop your lazy butt off every afternoon, you don't get to choose the music. Or, if you must, choose something worthy of listening to."

"One Direction are amazing."

"They suck. I'm sorry, but it's true. I hate their songs," I said, turning a corner and coming to a stop at the lights.

"Hate is such a harsh word."

"I know, that's why I used it. This obsession of yours has gone too far," I told her seriously.

"I don't obsess; I just think intensely."

"I don't see the distinction."

"You should," she pouted again, looking out the window and folding her arms against her chest.

I looked at her incredulously. "How _old_ are you?" she ignored me. I sighed, "Fine. I apologise." She glared at me.

"What, you want me to mean it too?" I asked in disbelief. And then I burst out laughing at the look on her face, which turned to annoyance. "I'm sorry," I said, trying to calm down. "I'm not laughing _at_ you, I'm laughing _with_ you…you're just not laughing."

She couldn't keep pouting any longer and her face broke into a small smile. "I forgive you, even though you don't generally laugh at someone when apologising."

"Generally, generalisations are wrong," I told her. I pulled up at her house, stopping in her driveway. "You!" I said, pointing at her. "Out my car!"

"You! Off my planet!" she replied to our long standing joke. "See ya tomorrow."

"Yep," I waved as I backed out, heading to my house. Kat lived close by, so it wasn't a long drive to my house. I parked my car in the garage and walked inside, not bothering to see if dad was home yet. He wouldn't be. He never was. Sometimes, I wondered if he even knew he had a daughter. However, my giant Golden Retriever, Bob, and my Border Collie, Beau, hurried over to me, barking loudly and jumping on me, seeking my attention in an excited manner. At least somebody cared I was home. I walked up the stairs to my room, Bob and Beau following me, and automatically turned the radio on. My black kitty, Belle, lounged on my desk chair and I lifted her up, sitting her on my lap. I stroked her fluffy hair and she purred loudly. Our house was huge, with five spare bedrooms, two ensuite bathrooms and a spare bathroom, a large kitchen, a lounge room, a study. Pretty much a normal house except everything was huge, very clean, and updated with the newest or best technology. But in such a big house, it was always so quiet. Deafeningly so. I always felt alone in this house, which is why I didn't mind being busy of an afternoon. A sticky note was on my desk and I read it quickly, taking my shoes off.

_Grace,_

_We have new neighbours. You should introduce yourself._

_I'll be home late tonight._

_Dad._

_You're always home late_, I thought. His message was so like him; direct and to the point. No beating around the bush, no paternal side notes like 'don't forget you have work tonight' or 'don't forget to brush your teeth'. _Tomorrow_, I thought, _I'll introduce myself tomorrow_. I had an hour before I needed to clock in for work, so I started on some homework, doing as much as I could. But by the time I had to go, I hadn't done that much. Just as I made it to the hallway, the phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked, glancing at my watch. Twenty minutes.

"Hi, I'm Tom and I'm looking for a domestic helper for my twelve children," he stated in a dull voice.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"I'll just hang up on myself now," and the line went dead. I stared at the phone for a moment, before pressing the button to call him back.

"Hello?" came the same voice.

"Uh, hi, uh, you just called me, but I think you have the wrong number. So, whoever you were trying to call, you didn't get them."

"Oh, thanks. I don't suppose you'd be interested anyway?" he asked, like he was grasping at straws. I shifted the phone to my other ear, scrounging around on the kitchen bench for my car keys. I had put them down one second ago to answer the phone, and when I came back they were gone, swallowed by the bits of paper sitting there. The kitchen was the only room in the house that wasn't always clean. Often, bits of paper with numbers on it, or bills, or letters were there, taking up the space.

"Well, I'm not a domestic help organisation, I've only done babysitting?" I offered weakly, still searching.

"And why would you be suited for this job?" he asked, as if he were interviewing me. He sounded so down, I felt kind of sorry. Finally, I spotted the keys under the electrical bill, and I grabbed them, holding on tightly.

"Uh, well, you said you had twelve kids; I'm good with chaos and disorder. I also tutor middle schoolers?" I didn't know why I was still talking; I already had a job. "Um. I can cook? And clean. And I manage time well. Look, I don't really know what-"

He cut me off, "How old are you?"

"I'm still in school. I'm a senior." This conversation was getting weird. Why was I still talking to a stranger? Actually, better question, why was I answering his questions? I didn't know who he was. He could be dangerous. But there was something about his voice that seemed kind of desperate, like he was mentally exhausted. Or just plain stressed to the max.

"Well, if you're looking for chaos, then come around to 435 Hilton Rose Lane. Thanks for your time," and the line went dead. I sat the phone back on its hook, shrugging. That was weird. And then I realised that the address was familiar; it was the one where our new neighbours had moved in. they had twelve kids? Wow.

Shaking my head, I hurried to my car and drove to work; sure I would get a scolding from Macy, my manager, also known as, crazy bat lady. She was, in all seriousness, crazy and mean. She was snide and uncaring towards anyone but herself. But I didn't want to quit because, surprisingly, I liked working there. It was difficult and challenging to work for Macy, but at the end of the day, I could say I _did_ work for her. Plus, it prepared me for the future, in case I ever had another crazy boss.

I arrived just in time to punch in, however Macy still had to say something. Of course. "Cutting it a bit fine, Grace? I would have expected more from you, but I know better. You just can't find good help these days," he voice was annoyingly high. And of course I wanted to reply; "Well why don't you do any work around here? You wouldn't last long without me." But I didn't. I just smiled, apologised and went to the front counter.

"Uh, Grace? I need you to take an inventory today. And after that, you can polish the cutlery and wipe down tables. I need this place looking clean," she laughed. I nodded, walking to the back and taking the inventory as she had asked. However, there was a lot of grumbling as I did it. When she was out or hearing range, that is. The inventory didn't take long to do; it was always neat and perfectly organised because I was the only one who did it. I kept it spotless, the record immaculate. Which is why Macy wouldn't last long without me. I didn't even think she would know where to begin. I hurried back to do the cutlery, sure that if I didn't do it fast enough, Macy would complain, or say to a customer how hard good help was to find while she stood there, filing her nails.

As I hurried back to the kitchen, I bumped into a tall, strong back, as I scouted around, looking for Macy. The best thing to do was to know where she was at all times; that way, you were prepared. The customer turned around and I smiled when I recognised him.

"Charlie," I smiled.

"Grace. You work here?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I glanced around him, looking for Macy. Heaven help me if she spots me talking on the job. "Uh, yeah," I said, when I didn't spot her anywhere. That didn't last long though as she hurried up behind me, poking me in the ribs.

"Grace, what are you doing?" she asked in a polite, but deadly tone, smiling at the customer.

"Uh-i-"

"Sorry, it's my fault. I was asking her which cake was better; the carrot and walnut, or the orange and poppy seed," Charlie cut in smoothly.

"Oh, well, it really depends on what you prefer," Macy said sweetly. "I'm sure Grace, here, can help you with that," she said, giving my arm a squeeze. It wasn't an encouraging squeeze, it was a squeeze telling me that I should hurry it up and get back to cleaning. Message received loud and clear. She walked off, back to the front counter. She preferred the front counter simply because she like showing off her Botox.

"Thanks," I said, when she was far enough away.

"No problem. I think all managers are supposed to be annoying," He said, sympathy entering his voice.

"Not all managers are annoying," I told him. "Some are dead." He smiled at me. It was an amazing smile. He had his trademark cap on, pushing the ends of his curly black hair onto his forehead. There were more curls at the base of his neck and I had the weirdest urge to reach up and run my fingers through them. But that would require me having to reach up on my tippy-toes, as he was tall. Very tall, and sturdily built. I had to crane my neck to look up at him. Inside the shop, his eyes looked closer to green, but I could have sworn that when he was outside, his eyes were a bright blue. I could see the shadow of stubble begin to grow back on his chin and I bit my lip, ordering myself to focus on something else. Which brought me to his lips. His perfect lips. It really was unfair how gorgeous he was.

"If you don't like it, why do you stay?" he asked me. Curiosity made him tilt his head and I had an unbidden image of a puppy come to me. He really was adorable, though I probably shouldn't tell him that. He may not take too kindly to being compared to a puppy. He'd probably want something more manly to be compared to. A lion or a tiger. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the ridiculous thoughts.

"True, it's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off," I told him.

"What could you have done to get some bad karma?" he grinned.

I tapped my nose conspiringly, "See, the thing about good girls is that when they're bad, no one believes it because they didn't think it's possible."

"So, you're not a good girl, you're really a bad girl?" he asked.

"Well, I don't mean to boast," I said, buffing my nails on my shirt, "But I haven't done my homework yet."

"Oh, that's bad," Charlie laughed.

"I thought so." Over Charlie's shoulder I saw Macy glare at me, tap her watch and then glare some more. "I think Macy is onto us."

"Really?" he asked, going to turn around to see what I was staring at.

"Don't turn around," I hissed. "She'll know we're talking about her."

"Sorry." There was a pause, then, "So, do you recommend the carrot and walnut cake or the orange and poppy seed cake?" He asked in all seriousness.

"Neither. I'd go with the chocolate brownie, they're to die for. But that's just me. If you're looking for something sweet, go with the carrot cake. The orange cake, you can really taste the orange, so if you like them, go with that. And that's about all I have time for," I grimaced, heading towards the back. "I'll see you at school tomorrow Charlie."

"Yeah. See you."

The rest of the afternoon was dreadfully dull as I polished the cutlery and then wiped the tables. I found myself watching the clock as I counted down how long I had left. Thirty-six minutes. The last half hour was spent cleaning. I stacked the dirty dishes into the dishwasher, wiped down tables again, stacked the chairs on the tables and mopped the floors. When everything was done to Macy's satisfaction (Macy 'supervised', which was code for do-nothing), I took off my apron and grabbed my handbag, going to leave.

"Grace?" she called, just as I was opening the door to escape to freedom.

"Yes?" I asked, walking back to where she stood at the counter. She handed me a white paper bag, the kind we use when people order sweets to take away. I raised an eyebrow at her. She was giving me food? She never gave away free food, especially not to me.

"The man you were talking to before paid for it, saying he wanted me to give it to you before you left," she said, annoyed and clearly unhappy about being a messenger.

"Oh, um, thanks then." I turned, walking to the door. As I stepped into the cool night air, I opened the bag and glanced in. A brownie. Charlie bought me a brownie?

I couldn't stop the ridiculously goofy smile off my face the whole way home.

* * *

><p><strong>So, what did you think?<strong>

**I hope you liked it!**


	4. Chapter 4

I was ridiculously excited to get to school the next morning. I woke up early, with the sun, and quickly became too restless to go back to sleep. Thoughts of school and the possibility of seeing Charlie swirled in my mind and soon my stomach was occupied with butterflies. Bob, Beau and Belle, took up the majority of my bed space, hogging the covers. Bob lay pressed against my back, snoring softly, Beau was curled against my stomach, her soft fur tickling the exposed skin of my stomach from my ridden-up singlet and Belle slept across my face, almost like a sleeping mask. In a tag-team effort, they effectively made it impossible for me to rollover. As I shifted, trying to move off my dead arm, they stubbornly refused to move, though they were awake now. With so many thoughts running through my mind, returning to sleep was an impossibility, so, I decided to go for a run.

"Okay," I called to the room at large. Their ears perked up and Belle purred. "Time to get up. Everyone off my bed!" as I sat up, they automatically got up too, jumping off the bed and staring at me, waiting to see what I was going to do. They knew the drill.

I changed into my running gear, asking my dogs if they wanted to come with me, "Do you guys want to go for a run?" I jingled their leads and Bob barked excitedly, deep and booming, his tail moving at lightning speed. Beau, the quieter of the two dogs, sat on my foot, staring up at me with intelligent eyes demanding I put the lead on her. "What about you Belle?" I asked, looking at her. She yawned languidly and pawed at my bed, stretching before spinning in circles and plonking herself on my pillow, her back to me indignantly. "Lazy cat," I told her, but she ignored me. Of course she wouldn't come for a run; she was a cat; she was probably insulted that I asked.

Dad had already left for work, unsurprisingly. So, grabbing a spare house key, I gripped Beau and Bobs leads and walked outside. I took a moment to stretch, which ended up taking longer on account of Bob pulling on his lead impatiently. And then we were off, down the drive way and onto the sidewalk. The air was fresh as the sun slowly warmed the earth and I inhaled deeply, glad for the chance to go for a run. My feet fell back into a familiar rhythm as they pounded against the cement, running the route I had run many times before. I didn't even have to think about where I was going; that was the beauty of it. I didn't have to think. Pretty soon, I was gasping in air and feeling it burn all the way down to my lungs. Bob's coat shone in the morning light as he pulled ahead and pulling me, but Beau ran comfortably at my side.

I preferred running in the early morning simply because of the air; it was always cleaner, purer, full of hope and the promise of a new day. I passed few people, mainly older men who relished having the bodies they had when they were younger, wanting to have them again. I smiled politely as I passed them and they returned my smile. It was the way, in this neighbourhood. There were no rude people, just friends, and if you weren't friends, you were acquaintances, and if you weren't acquaintances, then you lived in the same area, so that automatically got you a smile.

The last half kilometre was always the hardest; I pushed myself harder when I felt my legs slowing down with the assurance of home being very close. My muscles screamed in protest, demanding a break from the exertion. As I rounded the last bend, I launched into a full sprint for home, Bob and Beau loping beside me in easy gaits. It would be so much easier if I had four legs. I collapsed onto the soft grass outside our house and fought to catch my breath, drinking in the oxygen. Bob and Beau sat beside me, Bob licking my face and nudging me with his wet nose.

"Okay, okay," I pushed his face away from mine, trying not to breathe in the smell of dog breath. As my heart rate returned to normal, I got up and walked inside, automatically filling the dog bowls in the kitchen with fresh water. Their long tongues lapped it up as I grabbed my own bottle of water from the fridge. Sweat trickled down my face, covering my body in a glossy sheen and making my face red. Loose strands of my long hair that didn't make it into my messy ponytail stuck to the back of my neck. I went upstairs to my room, having a shower and savouring in the feeling of steady streams of warm water pelting my skin.

I threw on the first things my hands grabbed; jeans and a red singlet and I pulled my hair up into a loose braid, curling tendrils framing my face softly. I shoved my homework I somehow managed to complete last night into my book bag; I dug around in my closet for my converse before realising they were next to my desk. As I went down the stairs, the end of my braid bumped against my lower back. I feed the dogs, making sure there was plenty of water and biscuits, munching on an apple. The bills from yesterday were gone; obviously dad had taken them to work so he could pay them. The kitchen bench was clean.

After brushing my teeth, I left the house, apologising profusely when Bob and Beau looked at me with both sad and accusing eyes like they did every time I left the house. No matter I always came back; to them, it only mattered that I was leaving. "I'll be back this afternoon," I promised, as always.

Getting in my car, I headed to Josephine and Henrietta's house first, the first house on my carpool list. Josephine and Henrietta were fraternal twins; opposites in almost every way. One thing they did have in common, though, was their mutual distaste for their names. Their mother had gone through a Victorian era phase when she was pregnant with them, thus naming them popular names from that time, much to their annoyance. Instead, they preferred to be called Jo and Henri, and if anyone dared to use their full names, they would suffer the wrath of a combined twin attack.

They had gotten back from China only last night, which is why they had missed the first day back at school. I pulled into their drive way and beeped the horn twice in quick succession. A second later, Jo walked out the front door, adjusting her thin-wire framed glasses, her black dead-straight hair pulled back into a chic but conservative ponytail. Jo was tall and willowy, and a prodigy when it came to physics and chemistry. Needed help balancing equations or finding the speed of acceleration? Jo was the person you went to. Henri was a beat behind her, a piece of toast in her hand, her short, frazzled red hair tucked behind her ears. Henri, by comparison, was a total jock, about an inch or two shorter than Jo's five-nine stature. From years spent swimming laps in pools, running track and participating in basketball, hockey and volleyball, Henri was built sturdier, her shoulders were wider and more angular and I knew beneath her baggy jeans were well-muscled legs.

"How was China?" I asked as Jo slid into the front seat of my Mazda 3 and Henri dropped in behind her.

Jo pulled on her seatbelt as I put my car in reverse, heading to Kat's place, "Nice."

"Too hot," Henri complained.

I laughed, "Good to know."

"There were so many people, I swear, if I had let go of Jo's hand even for a second, I would have lost her," She said around her mouthful of toast.

Jo sighed, exasperated, "What did I tell you about eating with your mouth full?"

In the rear view mirror, I saw Henri shrug, uncaring. "I'm hungry and I have a lot to say."

Even though Kat lived the closest to me, I always picked her up last due to the fact that she was perpetually running late. No matter how early she woke up, she was always the last person to school. Currently, her beat up fiat 126 was in for servicing, and the twins didn't have their own car, so it was left to me to chauffeur everyone around. The good thing, though, was that I never paid for my own movie ticket; a consolation prize.

A second later, I pulled into Kat's drive way and beeped the horn again, in the same way I had for Jo and Henri.

Henri leaned forward, "Twenty bucks says she can't make it out in under five minutes."

"Deal," Jo said. We watched the door and I timed, waiting to see how long it would take. Two minutes passed and we sat there, staring. At the four minute mark, Henri groaned and I tooted again. At exactly six minutes, Kat emerged from her house in a flurry of movement, shoving loose bits of paper into her bag and picking up the bits that fell to the ground. Her blonde hair was damp and fell in her eyes as she hurried to my car. She got in, slamming the door shut.

"Sorry," she said, shoving her bag down at her feet.

"You should be," Henri grumbled. "You cost me twenty bucks.'

"What?" a quizzical frown appeared on her face.

"Never mind."

I took off down the street towards the school when Jo asked, "So, what did we miss?"

"Oh. My. God. The hottest guy has transferred to our school. _Charlie_," she drew his name out and fanned her face. "Imagine tall, dark and handsome, but sexier. And so adorable!"

"Damn," Henri muttered. "We always miss out on the good stuff."

"He was at the café yesterday," I said unthinkingly. As soon as it was out of my mouth, I knew I'd made a mistake. Kat's eyes bulged as she glared at me.

"And why didn't you tell me?" She demanded. "This stuff is important!"

I shrugged, "Does it matter?"

"Yes! What happened?"

"He ordered cake," I told her, grinning.

"You know what I mean," Kat groaned. "Tell us everything."

"This isn't the beginning of another obsession, is it?" I asked worriedly.

"Name one time I've had an obsession with someone at our school," she scoffed.

"Pat Miller, fourth grade. You made us ride our bikes around every afternoon to search for his house," I said dryly.

"Noah Beasly, sixth grade," Henri added.

"Joseph Blaise, seventh grade," Jo added. "If I remember correctly, that obsession lasted two years."

"Freshman year, that foreign exchange student from Cadiz," I said. "You were so depressed when he left."

"And last but probably not the absolute last, junior year Scott Nateman," Henri finished.

"Fine, so I've had a couple of _crushes_," she emphasized. "That doesn't mean anything this time, I mean, Grace saw him first."

"Oh man, he's spoken for already?" Henri whined.

"No," I said at the same time Kat said yes.

"Okay, how about this; you tell us _everything_ that happened yesterday afternoon, and we'll decide if he's spoken for or not," Jo said.

"Fine," I sighed. I told them everything, from bumping into him, to getting in trouble from Macy to the brownie.

Henri sighed when I finished, "He's spoken for."

"No, he's not," I laughed at her crestfallen expression.

"He brought you a brownie," Jo said, raising an eyebrow.

"Only because I said they were really good!" it was my turn to be exasperated. "Besides, we have gym first up and he might be in our class, so Henri will be able to amaze him with her sporting prowess."

Kat groaned as I pulled into the school parking lot, and into the same spot as yesterday, "I forgot about gym. Though, that does remind me, John is after Grace again."

"How did gym remind you of John?" I asked in disbelief.

Kat shrugged, "John's in our gym class."

"Oh. But he's not after me, he's a creep who likes to wind me up to get a rise from me."

"When are you going to face up to the facts, Gracie? That boy likes you," Jo sighed.

"Even if he does like her, there is no way he's dating her. He's a jerk, heck, he's king of the jerks," Henri said, her protective side coming out.

"I'll face up to the facts when they actually become facts and not just speculation," I quipped. "Talking about facing up to the facts, when will you put Jordan out of his misery and go out with him?"

Jo blushed, "I'm too busy at the moment; senior year is a busy year and I need to get that scholarship."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, locking my car. "Come on, we'll be late if we don't hurry."

We made it up the front steps in record timing and Kat called, "I'll see you guys in gym," as she sped off to her locker. Gym was the one class we shared all together. I waved to Jo as she headed to her locker, and Henri walked beside me she had homeroom with me, her locker situated right beside mine. As we hurried down the hallway, Henri slowed her pace to match mine as her legs were longer than mine. In fact, from my little group of friends, I was the shortest at five-two and they were constantly having to take smaller steps. Kat was closer to my height at five-five, than Jo or Henri.

Henri glanced down at her jeans, "Did I ever thank you for these?"

"I'm pretty sure you did, though I don't mind if you want to marvel in my gift," I grinned. Her jeans, which I had given her last year for her birthday, had started out as a normal pair of jeans, but, with a little creativity from me, I had decorated them in patterns of gold, silver, red, purple, blue and green, drawing pictures and making patterns. Art was one of the few things I seemed to do well at, and it was something I enjoyed doing; watching the colours come to life and give shape and definition to my thoughts, ideas or memories. Art, languages and history was my forte. Sciences and math was Jo's, sports and health was Henri's and music and drama was Kat's. We were like four puzzle pieces from completely different puzzles that somehow fit together perfectly to create a big picture.

As we turned a corner in the hallway, I saw Charlie ahead, walking in the opposite direction to us. When he spotted me, he smiled. "Thanks for the brownie," I said.

"Was it to die for?" He joked.

"You have no idea." Henri cleared her throat and I jumped, having briefly forgotten she was even there. Okay, so maybe I had it bad for the new guy. "Oh, Charlie, this is Henri, my best friend, Henri, this is Charlie."

"Hi," she grinned, holding out her fist for a fist bump. I nearly laughed. During informal introductions, Henri always fist-bumped, Jo always shook their hand and Kat fluttered her eyelashes when it was a guy, or raised an eyebrow when it was a girl and I always seemed to half-wave or smile. We were weird like that.

Charlie seemed surprised at Henri's antics but nevertheless bumped his fist against hers, "Hi."

Then the bell rang and we hurried off, heading for our lockers quickly and then to homeroom. Mr Hudson said nothing as we arrived late, indifferent to when we got there as long as we did get there. Mr Hudson was probably the mellowest teacher in the whole world, or close to it.

"_That_ was Charlie?" Henri asked, even though she had heard me say his name. "Holy moly, he is smokin'."

"True," I laughed. "He has amazing eyes," I sighed.

"Jesus, I didn't even get to his eyes, I was too busy looking at his face."

"Well, when you do, you'll know what I mean."

We sat down, chatting, but the next thing I knew, the bell was ringing and we were heading to the girls locker rooms, changing into the horrid regulatory uniform; blue shirt with the school logo on the chest, and black sport shorts. The school required all students to take gym; however, for those jocks like Henri, Sport was an actual class, so they did two lots of sport each week instead of one.

Finding Jo and Kat, we hurried over, sitting against the wall. From where we sat, I could see Charlie talking to the Coach. So, he was in this class.

"John," the Coach called.

"Yes," he answered lazily.

"Take Charlie to the boy's locker room and get him a uniform and a lock," the Coach ordered. John mock saluted and walked away, passing us as he went, Charlie trailing behind.

"Dreamed about you last night," he said, slowing down so he could say this, but not stopping.

"Don't make me puke," I snapped at him.

"Oh, trust me, you were doing something with your mouth but it wasn't puking. Maybe we could make it a reality," he grinned wickedly, tauntingly.

"Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental, and that's the way it's going to stay," my jaw clenched.

His grin only widened, but he left it at that, walking to the locker rooms. My face reddened as I felt Charlie's eyes on me, but I didn't look up at him. Way too embarrassing. I only looked up when they were far enough away and I watched them disappear into the locker room.

"Creep," Henri said.

"Jerk," Kat corrected.

"Pig," Jo added.

"All of the above," I laughed.

"So, _that's_ Charlie?" Jo asked in a whisper. I laughed at how similar her response was to her sister's. Maybe they had more in common than I thought.

"That is Charlie," I confirmed.

"Oh my gosh," she said.

"Yep," I confirmed again.

"Did you see the look on his face just then?" Kat interrupted Jo and mine's musings.

"Yeah, he looked mad," Henri joined in.

"Did he?" I asked, surprised. I couldn't imagine a mad Charlie. But that was probably just because I'd only ever seen him smile.

"Mmm-hhmm," Kat said. "I wonder what that was about."

"I have no idea," I frowned. We fell into speculative silence.

"You know, I think I prefer bad boys," Kat said.

"What?" Henri asked.

"You know, Charlie is cute, like really cute, but I prefer the whole I-don't-give-a-damn attitude, pierced skin, tattooed guys. Charlie is too…farm boy for me. Too clean cut," Kat said.

"Right," I laughed.

"We forgot you like guys who are just as messy as you are," Henri added.

A second later, Charlie walked back in; his jaw clenched tight, his hands made into fists. He looked absolutely livid; a black look twisted across his face. Despite this, I couldn't help but notice he was pulling our ugly uniform off with ease, nor could I stop my eyes from running over his broad shoulders and firm-looking chest. I bit my bottom lip, worrying it between my teeth.

"What do you suppose they talked about?" Jo asked, looking like she felt sorry for Charlie, being in a fairly confined space with John.

"What all guys talk about; either themselves, sports, or girls," Henri said, her eyes were also glued to Charlie.

Suddenly Kat burst into giggles and we turned to look at her, "I just had a thought. What if they took out their _thingies_ and compared sizes?" she managed to get out between huge, belly-deep laughs.

I blushed at the suggestion, surprised Kat would have thought up something like that. Then again, Kat wasn't exactly propriety incarnate. She said stuff like that all the time. Henri leaned against me to better speak to just us three, "Who do you think won?" she wiggled her eyebrows.

"You know," Kat whispered, "I heard you could tell by their shoe size."

"Where did you hear that?" Jo asked, laughing.

"In a book, I think," Kat replied. I couldn't help it; my eyes wandered down to Charlie's sneakers. My cheeks reddened even more as I realised they were big sneakers.

Kat laughed, "You so just looked," she accused me.

"Did not," I defended, but she saw right through me. I was a terrible liar; horrible really, except when it came to someone else's secrets; those I succeeded in keeping to myself rather easily, but anything else was open to the general public it seemed.

They laughed at my red face as the Coach's whistle blew and we groaned, getting up and gathering around him. "Today's sport is soccer, so Henrietta and Jared will be our team captains; choose your team," he told them. Henri walked to stand beside the Coach, glaring at him for using her full name. He either didn't see or didn't care. Naturally, Henri chose us first.

* * *

><p><strong>So, what did you think?<strong>

**THANK YOU to those who reviewed; it means a lot to me!**

**I will be back to school tomorrow so my updating will probably become very irregular, so i apologise in advance. Sorry.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

Henrietta angrily blew her short bangs out of her face and sighed as we walked to our next class. "I can't believe we lost!"

"It's just a game," I soothed.

She rolled her eyes at me and grumbled, "How can you be so calm about this? We lost to Jared. You hate Jared."

I shrugged, "It's not a big deal. Besides, if you didn't want to lose, you shouldn't have picked me for your team. You know I lack any sporting genes what so ever."

"Not a big deal? What is wrong with you? We _lost_!" she exclaimed, skipping over the subject of my pitiful sporting dexterity. I rolled my eyes at her this time, too used to Henri's competitive nature to be too worried. She peered at me, her narrowed eyes darting over my face, "You even seem happy," her tone conveyed her disgust, as if the idea of losing a soccer game was repulsive.

I sighed, looking to Kat for help. "Henri, get over it. If it makes you feel better, you can kick Jared's ass later," she said dismissively.

"Thank you." A small rise in the right corner of her mouth was the only warning I got that she was about to embarrass me.

"Speaking of asses," she started. Jo turned her wise eyes to us now, away from her _Properties of Physics_ book. Having everyone's attention, she ploughed on, "I know why Grace is so happy so soon after her loss to Jared."

I raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her, "Is that so?"

"Yes, that is so." Her grin was devilish.

"Okay, I'll bite. Why am I so happy?"

"Because you just spent almost a whole lesson gazing at Charlie's butt," Her voice sounded like she wanted to laugh.

"Not true," I defended, but a traitorous blush rose to my cheeks.

"That's why you sucked even worse than usual today," Henri said, snapping her fingers as if she had finally placed the last piece of a puzzle together and the picture only just made sense. I left out a nervous laugh and looked away, the heat coming off my face in waves.

I cleared my throat, "Um, I have to go to my locker to get my algebra textbook."

Kat's grin widened even further, if that was possible, "Did I embarrass you?"

"No," I answered, too quickly. It wouldn't have mattered anyway because my face was now a traffic stoplight.

"You're a terrible liar. I'll tell you what; you admit you have a crush on Charlie, then I won't make fun of you," I peered at her suspiciously. It was too unlike Kat to back off so easily for me to accept her terms.

"'Crush' is so middle school," I said, avoiding the topic.

"You're avoiding the topic," Jo grinned. I glanced at her, sending a venomous glare in her direction. I thought she was on my side.

"Well?" Henri prompted.

"No comment," I said.

"Oh, come on!" Kat exclaimed.

"No comment," I stressed. "I'm not saying anything. Now, I have art class, so if you want to badger me some more, I'm sorry to say it'll have to be at another time."

"When is good for you?" Kat laughed.

"How about never? Does never work for you?" I retorted, speeding up and leaving them behind.

"No," she called after me, "But we can raincheck!"

I waved at them over my shoulder, getting lost amongst the numerous students gathered in the corridor as they tried to chat with each other in the couple minutes between classes. I walked up a set of stairs to the top level and rounded a corner to my classroom. The art room was probably my favourite classroom; it was so open. Large windows lined three of the four walls; the feature that had it labelled as the 'fishbowl' room. The fumes from the paint never lingered as the windows were almost always opened.

I followed behind Lucas to the storage area that was only slightly smaller than the actual classroom and brought out our easels, setting them in front of our chosen stools. I waited for the rest of the students to finish flipping through the canvases, trying to find their piece before grabbing my own and setting it up.

I jumped as Ms Rose called us to attention, her high voice breaking me out of my thoughts. "You already know that you need to finish your re-creations in the next three weeks, but you may not be aware that your analysis is due next week," she said. There were collective groans around the room. The familiar feeling of panic flashed through me at the mention of assessment, but it disappeared quickly. I was always panicky and nervous about assessment and exams.

"Remember, your pictures don't need to be _exact_ replicates," she paced up and down the aisles, glancing at peoples canvases as we gathered our palates and paints and other items.

I mixed the blue and white paint, searching for the necessary shade. A re-creation of Vincent Van Gough's 'Starry Night' was splashed across the canvas and an A4 copy of the original pinned in the corner. My eyes flickered back and forth between them and I frowned, noticing the slight differences between them. Some shades of blue were too light when they needed to be darker; some of the swirls were too small or not rounded right. The moon in the corner was a little too orange for my liking, and I just couldn't get the luminescence around the stars right.

Ms Rose stopped by my left elbow and I tensed, fighting the urge to cover my work under her critical and experienced eye. I cringed as she said 'hmm', looking at the oil painting.

"Well, you've certainly captured the flowing movement, the visual dot to dot with the stars and the secluded, peaceful ambience of the village. Well done," and she walked off. I'm pretty sure I was gaping at her. Did she not see the disfigured hill top that wasn't right at all, or the how the pointed roof was tilted too much to the left? I let out a disgruntled sigh.

I went back to the horizon colouring. I was worrying my lip when Ms Rose told us we needed to pack up before the bell went. When the bell did go, I got about halfway down the hallway when Kat caught up to me. She glanced at me then laughed.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said, pursing her lips in a poor attempt at not smiling.

"Come on, what?"

"Nothing," she repeated.

I sighed dramatically at her, "Fine! I don't care what you're laughing at."

She just grinned evilly at me as we made our way to English class. We hurried down the corridor even though we weren't late. "You go ahead; I have to get my book."

"Okay," she grinned and I rolled my eyes at her.

"I don't care what you're laughing at," I told her, before walking away and heading for my locker. I ploughed around the corner and ran into a hard chest. "Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry," I said before even looking at the guy, because it was obviously a guy.

"It's okay," he chuckled.

"Charlie," I grinned up at him.

"Hey-uh," he smiled, his eyes pinned to a spot just above my eyebrow, "Uh…"

"Oh, God, what?" I asked, beginning to panic.

"Uh, it's just, you uh, have some blue paint above your eyebrow," he smiled.

My cheeks flamed, "Oh." I reached up to where he was looking, trying to wipe it away. "I'm gunna kill Kat," I muttered.

"What?" he smiled.

"Kat laughed at it but wouldn't tell me what she was laughing at," I explained.

"Oh, well at least there's an adequate reason," he joked. "Uh, here, it's still there," he reached up and I froze, afraid to move as his fingers brushed over my skin. My cheeks heated up even more than they already were. His chest was at my eye level and I looked up pausing for a second at his lips. When they quirked up in a smile, I quickly continued my path upwards and realised he wasn't even looking at me stare at his lips, he was grinning at the mark on my head.

"There you go," he said, holding up a blue covered finger.

"Thanks. At least oil paint is slow drying; easier to wipe off. I'm Lucky."

"Blessed," he grinned.

"Fortunate," I confirmed.

"Auspicious," he said, grinning at me like it was a challenge.

"Providential."

"Propitious."

"Destined."

"Fated."

"Preordained."

"Okay, I give up," he grinned.

"Good, cuz' I ran out of words," I smiled.

He smiled and then glanced around, "Where is everyone?"

"Oh my God." I looked around, realising the hallways were empty. "We're supposed to be in English class."

"Yeah, that would explain the lack of people," Charlie said, heading towards the classroom.

"You don't say," I muttered sarcastically. He just grinned at me. "We are going to get into so much trouble," I groaned.

"No, we're not," He said simply.

"Yes we are, of course we are!" I snapped at him, "We are so late!"

His eyes slid across to me, "You've never gotten in trouble before, have you?"

"No."

"Well, relax."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No," he grinned.

"No? How can you be so calm?"

"Because we're not getting in trouble."

I paused, regarding him cautiously, "How?"

"We're going to lie."

"Lie? That's your plan? I'm a terrible liar! _Everyone_ can tell when I'm lying!" I hissed at him as we drew closer to the English room.

We came to a stop outside the classroom, "Just follow my lead," he said, opening the door and walking in.

"Oh, I'm so getting a detention," I whispered to myself.

The whole class turned to us when we entered and I could feel my face go bright red. With so many eyes on me, I felt nervous and I tugged on the hem of my shirt, avoiding everyone's questioning stares. When I did glance up, I saw Kat, who was smirking at me, her eyes darting between me and Charlie in a way that was meant for me to see and so obviously spelled trouble for me later.

"Sorry we're late," Charlie told Mrs Stiles and I swallowed.

"Why were you late?" Her tone conveyed the 'It had better be good'.

"I was feeling dizzy and Grace offered to stay with me until I felt better," Charlie informed. How could he be so calm? He was blatantly lying to a teacher, and he was so indifferent to it. If it were me, I'd be blushing and stammering. Clearly a life of crime as a career could be ruled out for me because if I was caught, I'd crack under the bad lighting of the interrogation room. Though, I wouldn't rule it out for Charlie.

"Dizzy?" she repeated, like she could gauge whether it was a lie or not just by the way the word rolled off her tongue.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded. Personally, I thought the 'ma'am' was overdoing it, but she didn't seem bothered by it.

"Why didn't you go get a nurse?" she asked me, looking around Charlie, who I was unconsciously hiding behind.

My eyes widened, "I-"

"I asked her not to," Charlie took over and I was grateful. "I thought it would pass, but just in case," he gestured to me. Just in case it didn't pass, I would be there to help. God, he was good. In the space of a minute he had the whole lie planned out and executed perfectly.

Mrs Stiles look at us another second before telling us to take our seats. Maybe she thought, with my stellar record of punctuality, that I wasn't capable of lying to her, or being late. As I walked down the aisle to my seat, every face I passed seemed to say 'liar'. It made me feel guilty.

As I sat down, a note landed on my desk. I placed it on my lap and looked surreptitiously at the teacher before unfolding it. Kat's large print covered most of the tiny square of paper.

_What were you two doing?_

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, mouthing 'nothing'. She threw me an irritated look before scribbling on another piece of paper and throwing it at me.

_Don't give me 'nothing'. Something had to have gone down for you to be late, miss goody-two-shoes. Beware, I will pry this information from you. You will tell me. _

I managed to stop my laughter becoming audible. I flipped the paper over, replying.

_I have no doubt._

When I went to write out notes, I realised I never actually made it to my locker, so I didn't have my notebook. I concentrated on Mrs Stiles, willing her words to stick in my memory when another piece of paper landed on my desk. I sighed, wondering what threats Kat would throw at me. When I unfolded it, I realised it wasn't Kat's writing. This handwriting was slightly messy and pointed.

_Told you we wouldn't get in trouble._

I glanced at Charlie to my right; he was staring straight ahead at Mrs Stiles, writing notes every now and then. If it weren't for the smug grin on his face, I would almost think someone else had written it. I smiled as I wrote my reply.

_You were lucky._

I watched his smile widen as he read the note, countering me.

_Luck had nothing to do with it._

I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. He was facing me now and I was hit again by how gorgeous he was. Unfairly gorgeous. It should be against the law. Perfect symmetry, strong jaw, proportionate lips, black hair that curled at the tips and amazing eyes. They changed colour in different lights; sometimes they were pale blue, sometimes a deep blue, sometimes a soft green, sometimes hazel. Right now, his tall, muscular frame looked too big for the wooden school chairs, his long legs rested under the chair of the person in front of him. I laughed at him and the side of his mouth tilted into a smile.

"What?" he mouthed at me.

I was about to reply when Mrs Stiles firm voice sliced through the air at us, "Grace, Charlie, is my class getting in the way of your social time?" for the second time, eyes from every person in the class turned to us and I felt my cheeks heat up with the unwanted attention.

"Sorry," I said, automatically.

"It won't happen again," Charlie added.

Then Mrs Stiles went back to teaching like nothing had happened. My cheeks were flaming and I pointedly ignored Charlie. This was his fault; if he wasn't so…likeable, I wouldn't be getting in trouble. Twice I'd gotten in trouble by the same teacher and both times were because I'd gotten caught up talking to him. He had a way of making me forget about everything else around me when I was talking to him.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when the loud bell rang through the room. I jumped up, realising I had no idea what this lesson was about. I made a mental note to ask Kat later, because right now, I had to get away from her otherwise she would bombard me with questions that I wasn't sure I wanted to answer.

"Grace," my head snapped up to Mrs Stile, who was standing by her desk, "Can I have a word?"

"Sure," I mumbled, shuffling up to her. No doubt Kat would wait for me and I'd be subjected to her questioning anyway. I sighed, looking at Mrs Stiles.

"Grace, is something wrong?"

I frowned, confused. Was something wrong? Did I look like something was wrong? Maybe she could read the dread on my face at the prospect of Kat's interrogation.

"Um, what do you mean?"

"I mean, do you want to move seats? Is Charlie bothering you?"

"Bothering me?" I asked, nonplussed. I looked at her incredulously, "Move seats?"

"The whole year you've never been late to class and you've taken notes, you're one of my best students. Then today, you are late and don't take notes and Charlie seems to be the reason. Is he…hassling you?" the corners of her eyes crinkled as she looked at me, appearing genuinely concerned for me.

"No," I said quickly. "No, he's not hassling me and I don't want to move seats. Today is just an odd day, that's all. I think I might be coming down with something. Honestly, I'm fine. Charlie is really nice, he hasn't harassed me or anything."

She stared at me a moment then nodded slowly, "If you're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," I smiled, hoping she'd just let me leave already.

"If anything is concerning you…"

"I'll come straight to you. But really, nothing is wrong."

"Okay then, you'd better hurry to class."

"Thank you," I said as I left, because she really was just looking out for me.

When I stepped out the room, I expected Kat to yank my arm towards her and start questioning me. Neither happened. Instead, Charlie was there, waiting for me.

"Sorry," he said.

"For what?" I frowned at him, wondering what he could possibly be sorry for.

"For getting you in trouble," he explained, falling into step beside me.

I half laughed, "It wasn't your fault."

"What did Mrs Stiles want?"

I grinned at him, "She wanted to know if you were harassing me."

"_Harassing_ you?" he asked incredulously.

"Yep."

"What did you say?"

"I said that you're a horrible person and I requested a seat transfer," I told him. He might of believed me if I wasn't smirking at him.

"Really? After everything I did for you?"

I rolled my eyes, "What did you do for me?"

"I gave you a brownie, I took pity on you and passed you the ball in gym, I got rid of the paint on your face when your supposed best friend didn't and I lied to a teacher so you wouldn't get in trouble," he said, ticking them off on his fingers.

I held my hands up in surrender, "Okay, okay, though passing me the ball wasn't exactly helping me."

"Yeah, I could tell that when you nearly tripped over your own feet trying to kick it," he said dryly.

"Hey," I defended, "I can't help being sporting impaired!"

"Sporting impaired?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know, sucking at all sports?"

"Oh, right. That makes sense," he told me.

"I know."

"What do you have now?"

"Modern history, then French, then Spanish. You?"

"Modern history, biology, health," he grinned.

"Cool. Well, lucky for you, Miss Rosenthal is a really, really nice teacher, so she'll probably explain, in detail, what you've missed on this unit so you'll be prepared for the exam. Which is in three weeks, by the way," I told him helpfully.

"Great," he said at the exact time John sidled up to us.

"Hello Kent," he grinned at me, completely ignoring Charlie.

I sighed dramatically, "I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth."

"You know, for someone so pretty you sure can be mean," he mocked, no trace of hurt in his voice.

"I'm not mean, you're just a sissy. Besides, how did you get here? Did someone leave your cage open?" I threw him a glare and wished he'd take the hint and go away.

"See, now that right there is what I'm talking about," he said, poking me in the arm.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Don't piss me off today, I'm running out of places to hide the bodies."

"You could never hurt me," he grinned.

"What do you want?" I sighed, knowing it was a loaded question to him but not caring so much.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said.

I stared at him. "There is no vaccine against stupidity," I said sadly. "We _are_ talking John," I explained.

He ignored what I said, "There's a party this weekend," he started.

"No."

"What?" he asked.

"No, I don't want to go to the party and no I don't want to go to the party with you."

"Come on, it'll be fun," he cajoled.

"Oh yeah, having my drink spiked by you is so much fun," I said sarcastically, remembering the last time I went to a party John was at. He spiked my coca-cola with vodka before pulling me to the dance floor and grinding on me to the music. I was such a lightweight that I had no idea what was going on. If Henri hadn't pulled him off me, he might have tried taking me to a bedroom.

"Wait," Charlie cut in, his voice sharp. "You spiked her drink?" he stared at John hard.

"Was I speaking to you?" he spat.

"Answer the question." I saw Charlie's jaw clench.

"Fuck off," John said. They stepped towards each other threateningly, their hands fisted. _Oh my god, what the hell is going on?_ I watched them stare each other down, my eyes wide. What are you supposed to do when two much taller, much stronger guys want to punch each other? I stood there in frozen panic, my mind blank. I'd never had to break up a fight before. I'd never actually even seen a real – life fight before.

"You had better stay away from her," Charlie said dangerously.

"Or what? You'll hit me?" John mocked. "Because honestly, I'm not scared," he said. "Anytime, anywhere." Wait, was he actually baiting Charlie into a fight?

"Okay, that's enough!" it was a second before I realised it was me who said it. But now that I'd found my voice, I couldn't stop talking. "You two will not fight just because you don't like each other. It's ridiculous and childish. If you can't not swear and threaten each other, I think you should avoid each other. Solving your problems with your fists is counterproductive and won't help the situation one bit. So, just take a couple steps back from each other," I gestured for them to move apart.

There was a tense sort of silence as they move away and I let out a sigh of relief. Then John turned to me, "See you around, gorgeous," then he winked.

"Go to hell," I told him as he walked off.

"Can't," John replied, "Satan still has that restraining order against me."

Then he was gone. "Were you actually going to fight him?"

"I don't know."

Charlie still looked angry. "You have a bit of a temper, huh?"

"Sometimes."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't hit him," I said.

His head whipped around to me, "Why?"

"You'd get in trouble," I said. "Obviously."

"Oh," his shoulders relaxed a little. "Right. Does he bother you often?"

"I guess."

"You want me to make him stop?"

I looked at him, surprised. What did that mean? "It's sweet of you to be concerned, but I can handle John." He didn't look convinced. "Really."

We entered the classroom, taking seats at the back. The class filled up before Charlie finally replied.

"Well, if he does, let me know, okay?"

"Okay," I said frowning.

By the look on his face, it wouldn't be a good idea to tell him if I wanted to avoid a fight between them.

But his protectiveness was sweet.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, first of all, i'm really, really, <em>really,<em> sorry that it's taken so long for me to update. I'm going to try harder to be more consistent, i swear.**

**Secondly, thank you so much to those who reviewed; you're all so sweet!**

**Thirdly, let me know what you think of this chapter. Is following school life too boring?**


	6. Chapter 6

"En la escuela, actualmente estoy estudiando Español, Inglés, matemáticas, música, teatro y deporte. Disfruto de todas las asignaturas. Después termino la escuela, yo voy a ir a la universidad si recibo la marca que necesito. Me encantaria – "

I cut off Kat's speech, "I can't believe you expect me to help you with your speech while I'm driving," I said disbelievingly.

"Are you saying you can't?" she replied, arching a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

"No. your first sentence is fine, but I would say 'me gusta toda de mis asignaturas' instead of 'Disfruto de todas las asignaturas'. It sounds less like you just typed it into a translator," I told her, grinning.

"Right," she muttered, scribbling in her notebook, just as I turned into her driveway. "I'll call you tonight with the rest of it."

"Okay. Make sure you give me enough time to prepare mentally," I joked.

She rolled her eyes at me and pulled up at her driveway, "Whatever. Talk to you tonight."

"Yep," and she got out of my car.

Silence greeted me and I turned the radio on, turning it up when I heard a song I liked. I was almost to my house when _We Dance To A Different Disco, Honey! _came on. I turned it up loud, so the music was blaring out the speakers and sang along, loudly and off-key but enthusiastically, which made up for my not-so pitch perfect voice. Wind whipped past my open windows as I really got into the song, pounding on the steering wheel and practically dancing in my seat.

The song came to an end just as I reached my house and I mentally praised myself for the perfect timing. I could hear Bob's booming bark as I turned the key in the door. A burglar would stand no chance against Bob, his ears could pick up the sound of a pin dropping, so should anyone try to break in, they wouldn't get very far.

Bob jumped on me, nearly knocking me over, his long tongue hanging out his mouth as he tried to bark at the same time. I laughed at him, scratching him behind the ears, his leg going as I found the right spot. A moment later Beau came around the corner, obviously from my bedroom. Dad had tried to discourage the habit when she was younger, telling me to kick her out and close my door but I was a sucker for her big brown eyes and the sad whine she'd throw at me each night after locking her out. After we got Bob, there was no stopping them and he just followed Beau's example by sleeping on my bed every night. Right from the get go, Belle had slept on my bed, not even caring that there were two other, much larger animals that could swallow her in one go, that slept there every night. She was the bravest cat I'd ever seen at the time, so much so that I'd contemplated naming her 'Dauntless', because on her first night she'd jumped on my bed, padded over to my pillow on the left side of the bed where Bob usually slept and claimed it as her own.

Right now, that was exactly where she was as I entered my room and changed into a pair of jeans that weren't covered in paint spots and marks (which was limited to two pairs) and a grey tank top, pulling my hair into a messy bun. Belle purred as I walked towards her, loud like a vacuum, and languidly blinking her hazel eyes. The purring got louder as I stroked her fluffy fur.

"So, I was thinking of meeting the neighbours today, what do you think?" I asked her, rolling her onto her back and tickling her soft stomach. The purring increased and I laughed as her whole body vibrated. Bob and Beau jumped on the bed, eager for attention as well. "Okay, okay, I'm going to visit the new neighbours. I promise I'll be back," I backed out of the room and Bob and Beau followed while Belle remained on my pillow, lazy as ever.

Bob sat, his head drooping as I walked out the front door and I laughed at how easy it was for him to make me feel guilty. "I promise I'll be back." Beau just looked at me with her accusing, intelligent eyes.

The streets were clean and the grass was mowed as I walked towards the massive house – or was it more like a mansion – that belonged to my new neighbours. Tall hedges lined the front yard of the house and when I finally made it to the gap where the mailbox was I saw a whole lot of chaos. A neat bricked path led to the front porch steps, but that was the only neat part of the house. Bikes, soccer balls, footballs, Frisbees, tennis balls, a little car, a blow up pool, dog toys, tennis rackets and various other items were scattered around the large front yard and as I walked towards the front door I tried to avoid stepping on anything and breaking it.

I rang the doorbell but I doubted it would be heard over all the yelling and screaming coming from inside. A minute passed and I hesitated, wondering if I should come back at a better time when the door swung open and I was greeted with broad chest that was definitely familiar. My eyes travelled up and met light grey-blue eyes, though I was sure they wouldn't stay that colour for long.

"Charlie?" I asked in surprise.

"Grace?" He asked, equally surprised. He had a white shirt with grease marks smeared on it, faded blue jeans and his trademark baseball cap. As usual, he looked sexy as all hell. Vaguely I wondered if he knew he looked sexy as all hell. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, I'm your neighbour. I was coming to introduce myself," I replied, smiling.

"No kidding," he said, smiling as well.

"Charlie, who is it?" An older, also familiar, male voice called out from somewhere in the house.

"It's our neighbour," Charlie shouted back, gesturing for me to come in and closing the door behind me. A man appeared around the corner, his hair white but with a welcoming smile.

"Hi there," he said, extending his hand, "I'm Tom."

"Grace," I replied, shaking his hand. "I live just behind you, down the street a bit. My dad's at work still, but he said to say hello," I lied. He never said to say hello but it was just what I did; I made up for his lack of tact and manners. I'm sure he would have wanted to meet them anyway, so it wasn't like I was making up stories, dad just had a lot on his mind, all the time. "Uh, I go to school with Charlie."

"Oh, that's great!" He smiled. And then I became aware of how much noise there was in the house. The screams and yells were much louder inside and I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed until just then. I blame Charlie; weird stuff happens when it comes to him. Like being late to class. Or getting told off for talking in class. Completely his fault.

Lightning fast, a large muscle-y blur of fur charged towards me and suddenly I was on the floor, being slobbered on by a giant of a dog. When it licked my ear it tickled and I burst into shrieking laughter, trying to push it off me.

"Gunner!" Charlie shouted, pulling the dog off me and restraining him as he tried to lunge at me again.

I laughed as I wiped at my face, "Ew!"

"I'm sorry!" Charlie said, gripping the collar.

"You don't have some sort of meat on you, do you?" Tom asked, offering me his hand.

"No, but he can probably smell my animals," I said, scrunching up my face when I realised that I now smelt like dog drool. Gross. Tom led me to a bathroom where I could wash my face and hands and I was glad for the soft scent of soap.

When I walked out, Charlie was still holding Gunner's collar, so I walked over and started patting his, scratching behind the ears, "Aw, who's a good boy?" the next second his leg was thumping on the floor and his tail was wagging. "He's so cute," I grinned at Charlie.

"And dumb," he replied.

"Aw, don't be so mean," I rubbed Gunner's head, "You're not stupid, are you?"

When I stopped petting him, Charlie tentatively let him go and he ran off. I looked around, trying to pinpoint the noise but it was coming from everywhere. Off to the left was a flight of stairs, and the ceiling was a long way up, so the noise seemed to echo and magnify in the cavernous space. It was like an army of kids…wait a second.

"Tom?" I repeated, my jaw slack as bits and pieces started coming together.

"Yes?" he asked, confused.

I looked at Charlie, wide eyed, "You have _eleven_ brothers and sister?!" I knew my eyebrows were in my hairline and I was gaping at him.

He shifted a little before nodding. I turned to Tom, "You have twelve kids?" I was so shocked.

"Yes," he replied simply.

"Wow, it's just – that's just - wow. I'm an only child and it's kind of hard for me to picture what it would be like to have that many brothers and sisters."

"That's most people's reaction when they find out," Tom laughed as a boy with a shock of dark hair, not dissimilar to Charlie's passed on a skateboard, throwing me a "sup?" as he passed.

"Sup?" I replied. "It must get crazy hectic around here." As I said it, two little boys ran past, twins as they looked exactly the same, wrestling each other, trying to hold the other in a headlock. Tom quickly split them up, but as they ran down the corridor, they started up again.

"You have no idea," Charlie muttered dryly.

"Jesus. _Twelve_?" I asked faintly.

"Yep," then he frowned. "You sound…familiar. Have we met before?"

"Uh, not really. You called me and asked if I'd be interested in babysitting," I told him, remembering the phone call.

"Oh, yeah. Well, if you're interested – " Charlie cut off his father with a groan.

I grinned at him, "Actually, I kind of am." It was the truth. I was intrigued about Charlie and I wanted to know his family.

"Really?" Tom asked hopefully. I smiled and nodded just as a loud shout sounded above the rest of the noise.

"LORRAINE! GET OFF THE PHONE!"

"I'm not done yet," was the reply.

"Come on! You always do this! It's my turn!"

"Get over it, butch."

"Just give me the phone! You can talk about what colour you're going to paint your nails any other time," the voice said again right before a head and beanie appeared over the railing from the second story. "Dad, can you tell Lorraine to get off the phone!" She yelled. Her hair was dark and straight and short, the beanie covering most of it.

"I'm right here! There's no need to shout!" Tom yelled back before turning to me, "It was nice meeting you," and he went up the stairs to sort out the phone issue. I giggled, the whole thing absurd and completely foreign to me. I'd never had to fight with anyone for the phone.

"Come on," Charlie said, grabbing my hand and pulling me around back to the door quickly, like he wanted to get me away from his family as fast as possible. So fast, in fact, that we nearly ran over his little brother. "Mike," he said, exasperated.

Mike tilted his helmet-clad head at us before asking, "Who are you?"

"I'm Grace," I smiled. "Your neighbour."

"Oh. I'm Mike. Are you Charlie's girlfriend?" he frowned at me, thinking it over.

I blushed, "Uh, no, I'm not." Though, I was very conscious of his large hand in mine.

"Whatever," and then he was gone. I laughed at the short attention span of kids.

Charlie sighed as we walked out the door and he dropped my hand. I missed it already. "Where are we going?"

"I was going to work on my car before you arrived, and trust me, you want to be out of the house because it's about to get a whole heap worse," he told me grimly.

"Don't you help your dad?" I frowned at him.

Charlie levelled his gaze at me, "It's complicated." I took the hint.

"So, what are you doing on the car?" I said, unsubtly changing the subject.

"An air filter change," he walked back to the front of the house and down the street a bit to where his car was parked. It looked as old as ever, but I didn't doubt its capabilities.

"Ahhh," I said, nodding, like I knew what he was talking about, before frowning when I realised there was no way I would be able to keep up with what he said if I didn't even know there was an air filter to be changed in the first place. "There's an air filter in a car?"

Charlie looked at me in surprise, a crooked smile lighting his face, his eyes dancing with amusement, "Yes, there is."

"Right," I said, red colouring my cheeks again, though curious. I knew nothing about cars except how to drive one. "And, uh, why is there an air filter?"

Charlie popped the hood of his car and gestured me closer so I could see. I had no idea what I was looking at; I knew it was an engine (duh) but I didn't know how it all worked together. It wasn't so surprising when your dad did everything to do with the cars. He undid some clasp – looking things and some screws before lifting up a piece of plastic covering what I assumed was the filter. "An engine runs by internal combustion, so without oxygen the fuel can't burn to power the engine. But not just any air will do, you need clean air before it gets to the air intake plenum and combustion chambers."

"Oh," I nodded. "But why does the air need to be cleaned?"

"Because otherwise you'll end up with dust and dirt and debris mucking up the engine, and if that happens then the car doesn't perform properly. Foreign particles wear on the metal parts of an engine, like the cylinders and piston rings because they act as abrasives," as he talked, he also worked, taking out the old air filter and setting it on the ground. He walked around to the boot of his car and pulled out a long chord, some spiralling hose and a large metal object, "This is a compressor; it'll blow out all the dust particles from the housing."

He disappeared back towards the house to plug in the compressor, returning a moment later. The machine was loud as the hose forced air out but I resisted the temptation of covering my ears. He switched it off and put the new air filter into the housing, the rubber rim facing up, and covered it back up again. He looked completely at ease performing an air filter change when most people had no idea. His fingers were deft, seeming to fall into a familiar rhythm as he re-did the clasps. The afternoon sun shone an orange glow onto his back; the ends of his dark hair visible from under his cap looked lighter. His white shirt fit him snugly and I could see a ripple of lean muscle as he bent over the engine.

I cleared my throat, dragging my eyes away from his broad shoulders, "How did you know it needed to be changed?"

"It was about the right time, and the muffler end pipes were sooty," he told me, glancing at his watch and looking down the street.

"Am I holding you up?" The last thing I wanted was to be a nuisance.

"I just have to go see someone," he said vaguely, like he was thinking hard about something else, when another one of Charlie's brothers appeared around the corner, walking towards us with a pencil, calculator and piece of paper in his hands. In the orange afternoon light the boys red hair looked practically ablaze, his glasses sliding down his nose slightly.

"I don't get these math questions," he said to Charlie, though he was looking at me, more than likely wondering who I was.

Charlie sighed impatiently, "Look, Mark, I need to go now otherwise it'll be late before I get back. Can you get someone else to help?" he barely waited for a reply, packing away the cords and the compressor, shutting the boot and walking to the driver's side door.

"Um…okay," he sounded so completely dejected that I winced. "Sure."

"Thanks buddy," Charlie said.

"Are you going to see Beth?" Mark asked. It wouldn't have been a big deal if Charlie hadn't frozen in his spot, his eyes flicking over to me, his face a stony mask. The sudden change was bewildering.

"I'll see you later," he said Mark. "And I'll see you at school," he said to me, before jumping in the car.

"Okay," I couldn't stop the confusion and hurt at being brushed off so easily from colouring my tone. It was his turn to wince and he looked guilty.

"I'm sorry, but I really do have to go. It's a long drive," he said apologetically.

"No, it's okay. I'll see you at school," I told him, practically ordering him to go see this Beth person. The question "Who's Beth?" burned on my tongue but I ignored it, waving as he drove off. I turned back to Mark as he walked back to the house and I would have kept walking if he didn't look so small and sad in that moment.

"Hey, Mark, is it?" He turned back around, nodding, "I'm Grace, Charlie's friend. I could help you, if you like?"

"It's okay, you don't have to," he began, but I smiled, shaking my head.

'I don't mind."

"Okay," and he smiled at me. That was when I noticed, in the afternoon sun, that his eyes were the exact same as Charlie's; a collage of blue, green and hazel. He sat down on the grass.

"Don't you want to go inside?"

"Everyone's still yelling," he told me as I sat next to him. He handed me the piece of paper and I looked at the first question.

_A machine fills 150 bottles of water every 8 minutes. How many minutes it takes this machine to fill 675 bottles?_

"So, what's the first thing you do here?" To help him, I had to know where he was having difficulties.

"I don't know," he said quietly, the tips of his ears turning red.

"It's okay. So, for every 8 minutes, 150 bottles of water are filled. That's your starting point; whatever you need to work will come from this bit of information. You want to know how long it will take to fill 675 bottles. There are two ways of doing this, but the easiest would be with the bottles. If it take 8 minutes to fill 150 bottles, how long will it take to fill 300 bottles?"

He frowned at me, "I don't know."

"Okay, so 300 is twice the number of bottles, right?" He nodded. "Then if the number of bottles are doubled, then would the time double as well?"

And just like that, his stormy expression cleared up and he grinned, "Sixteen minutes?"

"Exactly!" I said and he beamed. "So, how many lots of 150 go into 675?"

He typed it into his calculator, "4.5?"

"Right, so if the number of bottles are multiplied by 4.5, how times do we need to multiply the 8 minutes?"

"4.5!" he exclaimed. He typed it into his calculator, "36, the answer is 36. I get it!"

I giggled at how happy he was, glad that I could help.

"What about this question?" he pointed to the next one and I read it over.

_A car travels at a speed of 65 miles per hour. How far will it travel in 5 hours?_

"It's almost exactly the same. A car travels 65 miles in just one hour. To find five hours, we multiply one hour by five, so what do we multiply 65 by?"

"Five?"

"You got it," I grinned.

"I get it. Thanks," he grinned at me and again I noticed how similar his eyes were to Charlie's.

"No problem. If you want help anytime, I live just in that house and you're completely welcome to come over, okay?" I pointed to the house with the red roof, so he knew which one I was talking about.

"Okay. Thanks," he looked marginally happier than he did before and it made me feel better. I was such a sucker for kids.

"Oh, Mark, can I ask you a question?" I waited patiently for his to nod his head but really I wasn't feeling so patient. "Who's Beth?"

"Charlie's girlfriend, from Midlan," and with that, he got up and walked towards the house, "Thanks."

"No problem," I repeated quietly, staring at the pavement, as it slowly sunk in.

Charlie had a girlfriend.

Then I really realised how much I liked Charlie, after knowing him only about two weeks. How much I wanted him to myself. More than I'd liked anyone else, even Jared who I'd stayed with for a year. I was so happy just assuming he had no one tied to him, but now I could feel that happiness burst. God, he had a _girlfriend_! My chest felt like it had caved in but I made myself get up and start to walk home. My eyes stung but I resisted the urge to cry, at least not out on the footpath in public. He'd never even said anything, all this time I was laughing and smiling at him, practically wearing a sign that said 'I like you' in flashing neon colours. What must he think of me? That I'm sad or pathetic. Or both. The whole time he'd probably been laughing about it with his girlfriend. No. I stopped the horrible thoughts. If this whole time I'd made a fool of myself, fine, but if there was one thing I'd learned about Charlie, it was that he wasn't mean like that.

Now I'd have to go to school tomorrow and face him, knowing he had a girlfriend and couldn't be mine. I was such an idiot. And god knew I wouldn't last. I loved the way his teeth showed when he smiled fully and how he got little crinkles around his eyes when he laughed properly. I loved how when he explained things, he did it simply, without showing off how much he knew or making me feel like an idiot for even asking; he just explained and moved on.

One look at him smiling at me in the school corridors and I'd melt, even if I didn't want to.

Clearly, avoidance was key.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so i'm sorry for taking so long. It's really not my fault. It's not. I swear. Blame my teachers, who think it's funny to give me so much work. All. The. Time.<strong>

**Anyway, let me know what you think (If you haven't just given up waiting for the next chapter)**

**Thank you to all the sweethearts who reviewed! I love you so much!**


	7. Chapter 7

"He What?!" Kat screeched down the phone at me and I held the phone away from my ear, wincing.

"He has a girlfriend, Kat," I said again, not even trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

"He doesn't!" she said.

"He does!" I insisted, "Her name is Beth, she's from Midlan."

"But I swear to God I thought he liked you," she said and I could hear the frown in her voice.

A surge of hope rose in my chest but I squashed it immediately, "Well, you obviously thought wrong."

"Have you met her? Actually seen her in person?" she quizzed and I sighed.

"No and no," I told her.

"Well, unless you've looked into her blue eyes or punched her perfect straight nose-"

"Kat, you haven't even seen her! How would you know what colour eyes she has?" I asked, exasperated. "Besides, his little brother told me."

"She'd have to be an even more perfect version of you if he chose her over you," Kat told me, and I smiled at her lie. That was what I loved about Kat; she was so sweet, and she always knew what to say, even if it was a load of crock.

"I'm not perfect. And I have brown eyes, not blue," I told her.

"I know, but maybe Charlie likes blue eyes," she said in a tone that made me laugh; it was a little too innocent and I caught on immediately.

"Kat," I started.

"Yes?" she replied, feigning surprise.

"You have blue eyes," I laughed.

"A girl can dream," she said, "What? Are you the dream police or something? Gunna throw me in jail for thinking about your guy?"

"No. And he's not my guy," I said.

"Ah, but do you admit that you like him now?"

"Yes, but it's a moot point, anyway," I sighed.

"Don't worry, I'm on my way over with the ice cream," she said and it sounded like she was rummaging around in her room, probably throwing stuff into her overnight bag.

"Kat, your mum doesn't let you have ice cream," I said.

"Yeah, but you have ice cream, so you can just pretend I brought it over," she laughed. "Besides, who isn't allowed ice cream?"

"I suppose you got your car back?"

"Just this afternoon. Runs like a dream," she said, "Or as close to a dream as my cranky old car can get. I'm texting Jo and Henri, they're coming over too, I'm picking them up. Girl's night!" she called gleefully.

"Awesome. See you in a bit," I smiled, though I wasn't sure if I really meant it. It felt a little too close to pity, and I didn't want pity, or sympathy, considering this was beginning to feel like an over-exaggeration. I mean, it's not like it was love, it's not like we were dating, or even gave any indication he wanted to be dating. I had no right to him, to feel possessive of him.

Then again, I knew Kat was only trying to be a good friend, to provide a distraction for me; after all that's what best friends were for. By the end of the night, I would probably feel much better. I would get over it. What was that saying – when life gives you lemons, make grapejuice and leave them wondering how on earth you did it.

I didn't have to wait long, which was lucky because too much time by myself meant wallowing and moping about. It was petty and low of me, considering we weren't even together anyway, but I couldn't help the black depression raking its claws in my chest.

The feminist part of me demanded that I get over myself, because I was conforming to one of society's views of gender (albeit, one that is all but non-existent nowadays) that said women need a man to be happy. But the empathic part of me told the feminist part to shut the hell up; I was allowed to be sad if I wanted. Then the logical part cut in, reminding me that being upset was useless and counterproductive. Then I just felt like an idiot.

I lay on the soft red couch in the living room, waiting for my friends to turn up. I didn't care if I had homework to do, or assignments to finish. I just felt depressed and kind of stupid, really. There was a loud knocking on the door and a small smile graced my lips. I opened the door and let them in. At first, they didn't say anything, just headed to my room and I followed them up. Bob and Beau followed behind me.

Then, impulsively, Kat threw her arms around me, "Are you okay?" she asked. Her eyes held sympathy and it just made me embarrassed and kind of irrationally annoyed. She was just trying to be nice.

Again, I reminded myself: it's not like Charlie and I were even dating, it's not like he cheated on me, it's not like he even really showed any interest that implied he was interested in a romantic relationship.

"Kat," Jo cut in, ever practical and I glanced over at her, grateful. She knew I couldn't possibly want sympathy.

"What?" Kat replied, her eyes following me as I turned the radio on. "Okay, okay." I heard behind me and I turned around to see them flop down on my bed.

"You know what will make you feel better?" Henri piped up suddenly.

"What?" I rolled my eyes. Again, I was finding this was all a bit of an overreaction. I mean, now that I thought about it, they didn't really have to come over and stay the night. I wasn't crying, I wasn't a complete emotional wreck. I was just fine; a little disappointed and depressed, but fine none the less.

"Kicking butt at video games," she grinned and I raised an eyebrow at her. "What, they help me."

"Henri, this is me you're talking to. I don't have that kind of dexterity to kick butt on video games. I get my butt kicked."

"So…ice cream then?" Kat grinned.

I rolled my eyes again, "Okay."

We headed back downstairs and got to work on the ice cream. They knew my kitchen as well as I did, so they were pulling out bowls and spoons before I could. We headed for the TV, and Kat deliberated between movies before finally, with a little cajoling from Henri, settled on "Clueless".

We must have been about half way through the movie when Kat burst out, "Maybe he's gay." Her eyes watching the TV with an absurd amount of intensity for someone who'd seen the movie at least twenty times.

"Kat, you've seen this movie before. You know he's gay." She rolled her eyes at me and I grinned, "But, if you're talking about Charlie, then you know he's got a girlfriend. Beth."

"Oh, right," she said. I quickly put her theory to bed. Sometimes, when she wasn't fully paying attention, like now, she said stupid things, even though she knew it didn't make sense. She was just like that.

When that movie ended, Jo got up and chose one, settling on 'Oceans Eleven'. I laughed on occasion at the dry, laconic humour of the movie. We were half way through a third movie when suddenly there was a loud snore coming from the end of the sofa. I glanced over to see Henri's head at an uncomfortable looking angle on the back of the chair, shoulders slumped as another snore ripped up her throat. I smiled, turning to laugh at this with Kat, only to find her asleep, her head on a pillow on Jo's lap. Jo seemed to be the only one still conscious.

"Suppose we should get some sleep, we _do_ still have school in the morning," Jo pointed out and I nodded, getting up and turning the TV off.

"Should we make camp here?" I asked, and when she nodded, I went to get pillows and blankets, returning seconds later with my arms full. Jo extricated herself from under Kat, before moving Henri so she wouldn't get a crick in her neck. I moved to the recliner chair, laying back as Jo made herself comfortable on the two seater.

I was just dozing off when Belle jumped up, landing daintily on my stomach, before curling up there. As I scratched behind her ear, I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for such amazing friends.

…..

I sat at my usual desk in Ancient History as I waited for the rest of the class to arrive. I hadn't seen Charlie all morning, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Relieved or disappointed? I hated that I wasn't sure.

The chair beside me scraped back as a body slumped in the seat. I was rummaging around in my pencil case, searching for a pen when I realised it wasn't Mandy in her usual seat beside me. I found the pen and just sat there, making no comment and hoping not to draw his attention to me.

"Morning, Kent," John said in a sickly sweet voice that completely ruled out the polite greeting.

I let out a long suffering sigh, wishing he'd take the hint and stop harassing me. "I'm not in the mood, John."

"I could get you in the mood," he suggested and I groaned. I refused to look at him, knowing he'd probably wiggle his eyebrows at me suggestively.

"I'm busy," I snapped.

"You're not doing anything," he pointed out.

I sent him a lazy glare, speaking in a droll, deadpanned voice, "It might look like I'm doing nothing, but at a cellular level I'm really quite busy."

"Ah, how I love you witty retorts," he smirked, settling back in the chair. Surprisingly, he was quiet a moment, his eyes darting to me every couple of seconds. It was annoying.

"Is there something you wanted?" I retorted at him. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to slap myself in the face.

A sly smirk worked its way onto his face, as his eyes travelled from my aggrieved face down. "Are you offering?"

"_Go away John!_" I hissed at hm. He merely chuckled and didn't move from his spot. "Did your parents ever ask you to run away from home?" I asked, genuinely curious now. "You're insufferable."

He opened his mouth to reply when I noticed Mandy had finally arrived, and she was giving John a look that said she was extremely put out by this change of events. _Yeah, you and me both,_ I thought.

"You're in my seat," Mandy told him. He turned his smug look on her.

"Maybe you should have got here faster," he said, shrugging his shoulders like it was her own fault John's legs had carried him to this seat.

"Move," she said, in her no-nonsense tone she usually reserved for her younger siblings. I had, on multiple occasions, seen her looking extremely harried as she picked them up from middle school and kindergarten.

He just grinned, ignoring her as the teacher walked in, giving Mandy a pointed look. "Miss Black, will you kindly take a seat?"

She grumbled all the way back to John's empty seat.

"So, today we start on the Persian Wars. Now, who can tell me what occurred at the pass of Thermopylae? Assuming you all did the set reading, every hand in this class should be up," he said, glaring at the class' complete lack of response.

I raised my hand and John let out a loud snort of laughter before saying, "Now there's a surprise," in a sarcastically mystified voice, watching my hand hover in the air. A couple people chuckled and I sent a scathing glare in John's direction.

"Grace," Mr Thracky said, waiting for me to answer him.

"That was where the first confrontations between the Persians and the Greeks occurred. It was where the Greek hoplites showed their mettle. The Persians secured the position, however, inspired by Themistocles, the Greek fleet met with the Persian armada at Salamis and won."

"It sounds like English, but I can't understand a word you're saying," John said.

"Then maybe you should get someone to teach you how to read, then maybe you'll actually do the assigned reading and you'll know what I'm talking about," I retorted.

He smirked at me, "I know how to read, I just choose not to."

I threw my hands up in exasperation, "Right, why be difficult, when, with just a little bit of effort, you can be impossible?"

"Grace, John," Mr Thracky sighed, placing the text book down on his desk precisely, like he was trying to be gentle with what he said next. "If you want to bicker like an old married couple, can you wait until my class is over?"

"Mr Thracky," I said in outrage, "don't be ridiculous! I would _never_ marry _him_." I couldn't keep the distain from leaking into my voice.

"You so want me," he smirked.

"Thank you. We are all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view," I snapped at him. Laughter erupted from the class and John scowled.

"Okay," Mr Thracky said, cutting through the laughter and bringing the class back to more important issues. I was lucky Mr Thracky had an amiable disposition, otherwise I'm sure I'd be looking at a detention, or at the very least, a trip to the principal's office.

I couldn't understand John sometimes; everything I said just seemed to rebound off him. Did he not get that I really didn't want to talk to him? Could he not hear annoyance and anger in my voice when I spoke to him? Then I sighed, feeling a modicum of guilt creep up. It wasn't his fault I was so on edge and irritated today. That tended to happen when you were avoiding someone.

I glanced over at John and realised something for the first time since I'd known him; maybe he was lonely. I'd never seen him sit with anyone before really, other than some guys who were just like him; obnoxious, loud, crude, loners, smokers. I didn't think he had any actual friends, who he could talk to properly. And maybe it was different for guys, maybe they didn't need to talk about their feelings as much as girls tended to do, but it must get lonely.

I clenched my jaw, knowing where my subconscious mind was leading me to. I was probably going to regret it. When the bell went, I stood up, packing my books away, knowing he'd wait for me just so he could send me more smartass remarks. I wondered if our war of words was the most amount of human contact he really got. It would explain why he continued to hound me even when I said mean things. Others didn't give back the way I did.

He opened his mouth no doubt to make some lewd remark, but I cut him off, "You have lunch after your math class, right?" I asked.

A taunting smirk lifted his lips, "I knew you had my timetable memorised."

"If I did, it would only be so I could avoid you as much as possible," I snapped, before realising I was getting off topic. He just provoked me, he pressed my buttons, he knew what to say to get a rise out of me.

"You can keep telling yourself that, princess, but eventually you'll realise just how much you want me, and when you do, I don't know if I'll be so accommodating," he replied, following me to my math class even though his was at the other end of the school.

I stopped walking, pinning him with a serious look, "I know you need help with this essay for Ancient History. I'm trying to offer you my help with it," I sighed exasperatedly, "But you're making it very hard."

He frowned, looking momentarily surprised, like he didn't know what to make of me, like I'd just gone and changed the rules of this game we were playing at. "Why would you do that?"

"Because it's what I do," I sighed. "Look, either you want help with this or not. You and I both know you have to pass this class to graduate, so why don't you just do yourself a favour and meet me at lunch so we can work on it."

He was silent a moment, and it was that silence that made me realise I'd really thrown him, "What about that new kid?"

I tensed, "What about him?"

"He doesn't like me very much," he grinned, like he enjoyed the animosity between them.

"He doesn't control who I help," I said incredulously. And then it hit me. "Oh, you just want to know if he'll be around so you can piss him off, right?" I practically growled at him. His behaviour didn't exactly help the fact that people didn't like him much.

"So what if I did?" he asked.

"You know what? Forget I even offered. It was stupid of me," I snapped, whirling around and storming off to my classroom.

"Wait," he called, catching up to me easily, "Wait, okay. Okay!"

"You want my help?" I asked, looking him over suspiciously.

"I want your help," he grinned.

"With this assignment," I narrowed my eyes at him.

"With this assignment," he confirmed, grinning.

"Alright then," I said.

"Alright then," he repeated and I rolled my eyes.

"You can stop repeating me now John."

"I know, but it was fun," he replied. "Just so you know, this doesn't change things between us," he said, gesturing a finger between us.

"Oh, please," I said, rolling my eyes, "Don't flatter yourself. As if I'd _want_ to start being nice to you; I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you."

"See," he pointed to me, a wide grin lifting his lips, "That's the old Grace I know and love! I want her around more often."

"Pardon me," I snapped, brushing past him. "You've obviously mistaken me for someone who gives a damn." When I turned around, he was opening his mouth to retort, but I cut him off, "Save your breath! You'll need it to blow up your date!"

"You wound me," he said with mock pain, placing his hands over his heart and I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever look you were going for, you missed," I shouted, getting further away. John was exasperating. He was lewd for the sake of being lewd, not necessarily because he was actually like that. He provoked me, on purpose.

But maybe we could be friends. This whole time I'd tried to brush him off, ignore him as best I could. My friends had assumed he liked me but maybe that wasn't actually the case. Maybe he badgered me because he wanted a friend, he wanted me as his friend, he just didn't know how to go about it.

He better bloody show up at lunch or I was going to kick his ass.

**Ummm…hi? Remember me?**

**Yeah, it's been a while, huh? **

**I'm so freaking sorry it's taking me sssooooo long to update! I got some serious writers block and then I just lost track of time and then I forgot all about this story and…I'm sorry?**

**You're probably all irritated I haven't updated in forever, and I apologise! Forgive me? Maybe? Or not, that's cool too.**

**Thank you to those who reviewed over my extended AWOL period; it means so much to me that you guys left such amazing, nice reviews! And that you guys kept prodding me to update! I'm planning on actually trying to update regularly now, so hopefully my updates will be a little more consistent!**

**A BIG, GIANT thank you goes to reviewers! I'm going to start doing replies to reviews at the end of each chapter, so here goes;**

**(it's in order of who reviewed first, to the latest review)**

**Outsidel0okingin: **Thanks so much for reviewing! It means a lot to me! I'm glad you liked my story (hopefully you still do despite how long it's taken to update)! It was really nice of you to say this story was a 'fantastic Charlie/OC story'. At the time you reviewed, you asked about my teachers giving homework and having the summer off; I live in Australia, so I still had school at the time :D Yes! Charlie still has his girlfriend. That put some speed bumps in their romance, huh? Anyway, thanks again for reviewing!

**x XRoweenaJAugustineX x: **Heya, thanks for reviewing! Yes, poor Grace; she's a little crushed at this latest development, but she'll carry on (because I say she has to; in the end, she gets the guy, haha. Everyone knows that; it's a Charlie/OC story) :D

** miss . twilightprincess: **Thanks so much for reviewing! Poor Grace; she's a little hurt, for sure! :D

**Faiths-Light13: **Haha, it would make things easier if he didn't have a girlfriend, for sure, but not as fun to write! You'll have to forgive Charlie; he wanted to get away as quickly as possible, particularly so Grace didn't find out about Beth :D I totally have a plan about this! Thanks so much for reviewing! It means a lot to me!

**Guest: **Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked this story! Yes! I never understood why he said 12 either! I mean, Nora, Charlie and Lorraine don't need a babysitter! Thanks so much for reviewing! It means a lot to me!

**xxxMiss-Bella-Swanxxx: **Thank you very much; that's really sweet of you! Thanks so much for taking the time to review! It means a lot to me!

**Guest: **Thanks so much! (I know, I didn't think there was an archive for Cheaper By The Dozen until I started writing this!). I'm glad you're liking the story so far! And same! This movie was how my obsession with Tom Welling started as well! He's just gorgeous! Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Addy: **Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked my story and were interested in reading the next chapter. Hopefully you liked it, though it took me forever to upload this chapter! Thanks for reviewing! It means a lot to me!

**ZigZagFanHoles: **Thank you so much! I'm glad you were liking my story, and I hope you will continue to do so! Yes, I'm totally in agreement; Tom Welling is absolutely super-duper hot in this movie (also in Smallville too) :D Thanks for taking the time to review!

**Guest: **Aw, thank you so much! I'm so happy you loved this story! I hope you still do (even though it's taken me forever to update). Haha, you were 7 when you fell for him? I think the first time I watched it, I was looking more at Jake because he was closer to my age, but now I just love Charlie! Thanks for taking the time to review; it means a lot to me!

**CharlieSwirl: **Haha, um, sorry? I guess it took me quite a while to update, huh? Thanks for reviewing though; it really means a lot to me!

**Hogwartswonderland: **Thank you so much for taking the time to review! Yeah, poor Grace; she's a little devastated about this whole Charlie/Beth thing! I'm glad you liked this story! And I'm glad you liked how she befriended Mark! I always felt a little sad for Mark in the movie (right until the end when they all came running to find him, and there was that group hug at the station!), and I thought it'd be nice if he could make a friend, albeit an older one, especially if Grace and Mark got along well because she's totally going to be a part of that family one day ;P.

**Guest: **Aw, thanks so much! I'm glad you like my story, and I love Tom Welling too! Thanks for taking the time to review! :D

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**Sweetest Days: **Aw, thank you! Aren't you just the sweetest (see what I did there? Your penname is 'sweetest')? I'm glad you liked my story! Yeah, I started this story because there weren't any CharlieOC stories (and because Tom Welling is just so hot!). Thanks for taking the time to review!

**MoonlitSorrows: **Haha, hi again! Thanks for reviewing again! And reminding me to update! Haha!

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**BlackShooter17: **Aw, thank you! I'm glad you were liking my story before I just dropped off! And thank you for taking the time to review!

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**MoonlitSorrows: **Hahahahaha! Hi again! Wow, thank you so much for reviewing three times and pushing me to update (though it still took me forever to update. Sorry about that!)

**Queen-of-evil66: **Sorry it took so long to update! Thank you for reviewing, though! :D

**B3li3v3InYours3lf: **Thank you so much, I'm glad you were enjoying my story! Hopefully you like this chapter too! Thanks for taking the time to review! (Cool penname by the way :D)

**Meowruffmeow: **Aw, thanks! Sorry it took forever to update! Thanks for taking the time to review!

**Silver Eyed Slayer: **Sorry! I feel really bad that it took so long to update!

**BonnieWinchester: **Thank you very much! Yes, I kind of liked John as well, so I tried to initiate some relationship forming here, as per your wish, so I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to review!

**MoonlitSorrows: **Okay, four times! Now I just feel terrible! (But kind of guiltily happy that you enjoyed my story enough to review four times to get me to update!) Thanks so much; you're just sweet!

**A: **Sorry! Sorry it took so long to update! I feel terrible!

**LuCkY-StAr69: **Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked Grace and though she was cute! Thanks so much for taking the time to review! It means a lot to me! I hope you liked his chapter too!

**Theonlyredhead: **Hey stranger ;P Thanks so much for reviewing this story too! I'm glad you're liking it! It's taken me way too long to update. And thanks for taking an interest in my other story too! Haha, thanks :D

** So . Not . Your . Average . Girl: **Haha! Oh man, I'm so sorry! It's taken way too long to update, but I have to say your review made me laugh so hard! Your poor cat; it's probably a little freaked out! Thank you so much for taking an interest in my story, though! I'm glad you seem to like it! :D

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**UnderARainbow: **Oh, sorry! I feel so bad it's taken forever! Good for you; it's kind of fun to work on the profile! I'm glad you liked my story. And thank you so much for the offer to beta! If I get stuck again like this, I might just take you up on that offer! :D

**Shannon: **Sorry it took so long! Thanks for taking the time to review! I hope you liked this chapter!

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**Thank you guys so much! And also, thank you to those who favourited and followed! You guys mean the world to me!**


	8. Chapter 8

I tapped my fingernail against the table top, impatient.

I'd said I'd meet him at lunch, but I hadn't specified _where_. The cafeteria was loud and crowded – obviously not an ideal place to concentrate. So I was waiting for him to show up so we could head to the library. I just see him putting up a fuss about _that_. But that wasn't my current concern; right now, I doubted he'd even show up.

"You know," Henri said, cutting through to me as she munched on a green apple. She didn't even wait to finish chewing before she started speaking. I scrunched my nose up, grossed out. "This is a bad idea."

"It's fine," I replied, eyeing the banana muffin on her tray. "I'll swap you my packet of Shapes biscuits for that muffin," I offered, holding the bag up.

She shook her head, "No dice."

"That sucks," I mumbled.

"As your friends, it's out duty to inform you that this is a bad idea," Jo spoke up.

"Yeah, it's like you're encouraging his behaviour. Reinforcing it with your help at writing an essay," Kat added.

I rolled my eyes.

Maybe I'd been wrong about him. Maybe he didn't actually want my help, or even some sort of weird, demented friendship. Maybe he just wanted to screw around with my head. He was doing a pretty good job. "It doesn't matter, because he's probably not going to show."

"Lunch only _just_ started," Kat pointed out. Then why did it feel like it'd been forever?

Probably because I wanted to get out of here. Away from the cafeteria before Charlie showed up. God, I was such a wuss.

A large body plopped down next to mine and a strong whiff of male deodorant washed over me, overwhelmingly so. It hovered around me, cloying around my nose and threatening to give me a headache – it was way too strong. It made me suspicious.

"Nice cologne," I snapped at John. "Must you marinate in it?"

He grinned, unperturbed, shrugging his shoulders, "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Just," I muttered. "What took you so long?"

"Aw," he made a face like he was looking at something utterly adorable. Like a puppy or a baby. "Did you miss me?"

I snorted, "Don't flatter yourself."

"Were you worried about me?" he asked in the same voice.

I rolled my eyes. "I was worried I was wasting my time waiting. I'm of high demand, you know," I deadpanned.

He laughed, "Well, I was let out late from class."

I looked at him sharply. "You know I tutor kids. Lots of kids, often. And I'm friends with these three. And I have four younger cousins who call me sporadically. You know that, right?"

He frowned. "What?"

"It means I've got a pretty good bullshit detector."

He just looked at me as I leaned forward, taking a sniff. That strong cologne hit my nostrils. Too strong – more than someone without blocked nasal passages would know to put on. I sniffed again before pinning him with a somewhat irritated glare, "You know it's against the school rules to be smoking?"

He gaped at me like a fish. Too late he replied, "I wasn't."

"Mm-hmm," I said placating. "Whatever. None of my business. I just hope next time you light up one of those cancer sticks you'll think to yourself; hey, I like breathing – it's actually kind of fun." I stood up, "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" he asked, getting up after me almost absentmindedly.

"Library."

He stopped moving, "We have a library?"

"Always the joker," I said snidely. "You know, they say opposites attract. I hope you find someone who's good-looking, intelligent and cultured."

He ignored my comments, "I can't go in the library."

"Why not?" I asked exasperatedly.

Then he looked at me like I was the idiot, "I have a reputation to maintain."

"Translation: you're embarrassed about needing help, and showing up in the library with me pretty much says to everyone that you need help with an assignment or homework."

He looked at me, dumbstruck, "Wow, you're good."

"I don't think I like your tone or expression of complete surprise." I shook my head, grabbing his arm and dragging him after me, "Get over yourself John, because I see some flaws with your concerns. First, you assume anyone gives enough of a damn about you to pay any kind of attention. Second, you shouldn't be embarrassed or ashamed about wanting help – all it shows is that you care. And I know you've got that whole I-don't-give-a-damn attitude going on, so I'm going to say this once and only once; it's stupid. Life after high school isn't going to care if people whispered about you behind their hands, or laughed or taunted. It won't care if you couldn't do your homework or assignments because you didn't want to ruin your reputation. And third, if your friends make fun of you for getting help to actually graduate from school, then they're pretty shitty friends and you should consider getting new ones."

"You know," John drawled, "I'd like to see things from your point of view, but I can't seem to get my head that far up my ass."

"Sure, mock the person who's about to help you with your assignment. That's a smart idea," I said sarcastically, glaring at him as I shoved a little too forcefully at the cafeteria door, swinging it open and right into someone's face.

Charlie's face.

He fell back, landing on his butt, his hand covering his nose.

"Oh, my God," I gasped, dropping down next to him. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

"Fine," he said, brushing my hands away, "I'm fine."

"I'm so sorry!" Behind me, John was doubled over, laughing. I glared at him. "Stop it, it's not funny."

He just continued to laugh, and we got up. Charlie moved his hand away from his nose, which was trickling blood. He winced slightly, "You got me pretty good."

I cringed, "You should probably see the nurse."

He dismissed the idea quickly, before pinning me with a serious look, "I wanted to talk to you. I'm sorry for just blowing you off the other day, it's just - ,"

"It's fine," I said quickly, not really wanting to hear him explain about how he'd really wanted to go see his girlfriend. "Uh, we have to go, so I'll see you around." Or, I'll see you as I duck round a corner to avoid you. But I wasn't going to say that.

"Wait," Charlie said, glaring at John, "With him? Why?"

John ginned like Charlie had made his day by asking, "What's it to ya, Baker?"

"I'm just helping him with an assignment," I explained. "And we're kind of running out of time, so goodbye Charlie," I said, shoving John down the corridor towards the library.

John pouted, "I was just getting started."

"That's what worries me." I glanced back to see Charlie tentatively touching his nose. I winced slightly, feeling guilty, "I shouldn't have swung the door open so hard."

"Oh, no, I loved that part!"

"You're a jerk."

He shrugged, indifferent, "I've been called worse."

It was a struggle to get him to step one foot into the library. We'd fought, and it caused a scene. The librarian had glared at us, before spotting me and giving me a confused look. I didn't usually cause trouble. I sent her an apologetic smile before giving John a don't-mess-with-me look, pointing to an empty table and folding my arms, waiting. He'd rolled his eyes and as he brushed past me, he'd whispered next to my ear, "You're kind of scary. Bossy, but scary. It's sexy."

After checking to make sure the librarian wasn't looking, I'd kicked him in the butt, pushing him forward faster. He'd slammed into the table, his bag falling from his shoulder and spilling onto the floor and making a disruptive noise. The librarian had glared at him, and I'd just shrugged my shoulders.

We'd sat down, glaring at each other. Then I'd started to smile, the grin twitching at my lips, and it had caused him to smile as well.

"Now that we have only about thirty minutes to get some work done, how about we actually start?"

"If we have to."

"We do. Now, which topic did you choose?"

He just looked at me.

"Please tell me you've at least chosen a topic and started."

He just looked at me.

I sighed, "Okay fine. From the top then."

"I saw this movie once, where the girl was testing the guy with questions about his exam, and every time he got an answer right, she'd take off an item of clothing…" he trailed off, grinning at me.

"Lucky this is an assignment then, huh?"

He made a non-committal grunt.

I pulled out my notes and the assignment, going through it with him and getting him to choose a topic. I outlined the essay format, explaining how his topic fit into that format, highlighting his research areas, before showing him the sections of the library with useful information for him. I somehow managed to get him to open one of the books, taking down the bibliographic details and getting him to take notes from it.

I worked on my essay as he read. But I couldn't concentrate. It was too quiet, and I wished I'd brought my IPod. The quiet made it easy for my mind to wander. I looked at John as he frowned at the book. His dirty brown hair was longish, hanging in his face, his eyebrows thick and I realised if he looked up from his position, he could definitely pull off the 'smouldering' look. He was clearly good looking, and it made me wonder why he didn't take that much advantage of it. He dressed in clothing too big, that was ripped and stained. He just looked like he didn't care. If he made a little effort, and made less rude remarks, girls would be following him. As it was, the bad boy thing he had was enough to get them interested.

"John…?" I asked tentatively. He looked up, waiting for me to continue. "Um, why are you…the way you are?"

He raised an eyebrow at me, shrugging a shoulder, "I like it."

"Do you really, though?"

He considered me, "What's this about?"

"Just curious. What do you do in your free time?"

"Are you asking me out?" he grinned in a mocking way.

"John," I said seriously.

He sighed, then shrugged again, "Go to bars. Drink. Smoke. Play pool. What do you do?"

"Read. Listen to music. Walk my dogs."

"Sounds wicked boring."

"Sometimes it is," I said before I could stop it. Did I mean that?

He looked at me differently then, "Ever considered going to Bob's Pool Hall?"

I'd driven past it a couple times. It was an old building, slightly run down, with graffiti covered walls and cigarette butts littering the foundations. Quickly, I'd summarised that future Ivy Leaguers didn't congregate there and I'd never given it a second thought.

Until now.

Now, I wondered what it'd be like inside, if it was like the outside. I wondered what it would be like to walk in there, who else hung around in there, what it looked like. My damn curiosity spiked. "I don't know."

"I could get you in."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I like corrupting innocent souls. And I want to show you that being bad is a lot more fun than being good."

"Sounds tempting," I rolled my eyes.

"How about this; if you help me pass this assignment, then I'll take you to the Pool Hall."

"Now you're assuming I even want to go."

"You do," he said, just as the bell rang. "I can tell."

"We'll see." We packed our stuff and I froze, "Wait, did we just have a polite conversation?"

"We did. I'm going to tell everyone!" he taunted.

"Go ahead. Tell them everything you know. It'll only take ten seconds," I told him, grinning.

"And we were going so well," he sighed dismally.

"I have a reputation to protect as well, you know. Tomorrow, I'll meet you here."

"Okay. Try not to miss me too much until then."

"You don't mean enough to me for me to miss you," I said as we left, and I spotted Kat headed towards me so we could go to our next class together.

"But I'm your knight in shining armour!" he mock gasped, pretending to be hurt.

"Great," I said in aside to Kat, but loud enough for John to hear, "My knight in shining armour turns out to be a loser in aluminium foil."

She snorted a laugh and John's grin widened. Everything I said just bounced off him. "You have a mean friend," he said to Kat.

She rolled her eyes, "I'd say it's well deserved."

"Ouch!" he said, slapping a hand over his chest like she'd punched him.

We headed to our next class.

It was all a show with John, I realised. We pretended, and mocked. It was like a play; carefully choreographed movements and jibes; say this then, say that then. It wasn't real; he didn't give much of himself away when he spoke, but this conversation had been an improvement over the others.

As soon as we sat down, Kat started scribbling in her notebook, her hand flying across the page. She did that suddenly, and without warning most of the time, and she wouldn't tell anyone what she was writing. At first, it had gotten on our nerves that she didn't share something so unimportant as what she was writing with her best friends, but after a while we'd figured that it wasn't that big of a deal; if she didn't want to tell us, she didn't have to. But it always piped my curiosity.

In English, I avoided Charlie, pretending not to see when he walked in, and sitting in spots with no empty seats next to us. I looked over at Kat as she frowned at her notebook, writing.

"What are you writing?" I asked, more so it looked like I was busy in conversation and wouldn't have to look over at Charlie than because I wanted to know. I did, but we'd learnt not to push it.

She sighed, "I'm writing."

"Well, duh," I said, gesturing at the notebook filled with her looping scrawl. She rolled her eyes and sighed again. She went back to writing and ignored me. Which gave me the opportunity to look around.

When I saw Charlie sitting by himself, not talking to anyone, I felt immensely guilty. He was new here, and I was among the first to befriend him. And now I was alienating him for a reason that was pathetic, like I'd rescinded his friendship invitation I'd offered. Throw in the fact that his nose was all busted up now because of me, and I had myself one guilt cocktail.

That wasn't me. That wasn't who I was.

And really, having a boyfriend would be problematic. We'd only end up breaking up, because we'd want to go to different colleges that were probably nowhere close to each other, and we came from very different family's; I was an only child and he had eleven brothers and sisters. And I didn't need any distractions when I got to uni; I had the rest of my life to be distracted, a time that didn't depend on passing or failing a course. It wouldn't work with us, so really, it was a good thing he had a girlfriend.

Sure, I was disappointed, but it was good for me.

And heck, I'd put up with John for the last hour. If I could deal with him, I could deal with Charlie. And Charlie was nice. And gorgeous. But nice, and that's what was important. Just before the teacher walked in, I gestured to Kat, and I stood up going to the empty seat next to Charlie. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked, frowning.

"For being such a jerk."

He half-laughed, "You're not a jerk."

"I feel it though. I'll make it up to you. Ice cream after school? My treat."

He grinned slowly, "Okay."

"Okay."

The teacher walked in and began her lesson. I faced forward and Kat turned back to glare at me, mouthing _I can't believe you ditched me_! I shrugged, smiling.

.

.

.

When the school day ended, there was shoving as people tried to get out. I was pushed into my locker a few times as peopled ran past in the crowded corridor. I swung the locker door closed and found Charlie there, leaning against the lockers beside me, watching the frenzy of people. "Oh!"

"Scare you?"

"Only a little."

"Still on for ice cream?"

"Definitely! But Kat drove us to school today, so my car's at home. I'll head home with her and - ,"

"You can just come with me," he offered. "I'll have to drop Lorraine home first, though."

"Alright." We walked out of the school and into the car park. "I'll just let them know," I gestured at where Kat, Jo and Henri were waiting at Kat's car. I hurried over to them and Kat glared at me.

"We could have been gone ages ago! Why does it take you forever to get out of school?"

"I like to make sure I have everything!" I defended and she rolled her eyes. "I'm going with Charlie, though. Ice cream," I explained oddly.

"You always buy people ice cream after school when you feel guilty about something," Kat narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

I rolled my eyes, "Yes. I figured out that this whole situation is a good thing."

Jo placed her hand against my forehead, "You don't feel like you have a fever."

I pushed her hand away, "That's because I don't." I backed away because I knew if I stayed I'd get sucked into further conversation. I waved and walked over to Charlie's car. Lorraine was sitting on the back seat and she smiled at me when I got in the front where Charlie gestured for me to sit.

The car was awkwardly quiet as he drove. The windows were down, wind rushing in and whipping my hair around my face. I looked back at Lorraine, "So, how are you liking it here?"

She shrugged, "It's alright."

"Have you made friends?"

"Yeah."

"That's good."

And that was the end of that conversation. I didn't know what to say to Lorraine; I didn't know what common ground we had to discuss. And before I could think of anything, Charlie was pulling into his driveway and Lorraine was getting out. She ducked down to look at me through the passenger side window, a wide grin on her face, "Good talk."

I snorted a laugh as she walked to the front door and Charlie pulled back out again. I directed him to the ice cream place; a small shop on the corner that I liked coming to.

**And I'll stop right there.**

**I hope you liked it! Sorry, again, that it took so long for me to update. But on the bright side, it didn't take nearly as long as the last chapter did, so I'd say this is an improvement :D**

**Thank you so much to those who reviewed and favourited and alerted! You make my day :D**

**Review replies:**

**xxxninaxxx: **Hi! Yes, I'm back. Took me long enough, huh? Thanks for letting me know about the pen name change! I'm so relieved you still like it and look forward to more moments between Grace and Charlie, even after how ridiculously long it took to update! Thank you so much for sticking with my story though, it means a lot to me! And thank you so much for taking the time to review again!

**Flashpoint147: **haha, yep, back. Hopefully I won't go MIA again :D I'm stoked that you're hooked on my story and that you like my writing! Haha, I ship Charlie/Grace too! I'm glad you want to read more of them, because I want to write more of them :D Thanks so much for reviewing again!

**Marianne 16: **Aw, thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the last update! I hope you enjoyed this one too! And I'm super glad you're interested in reading more! Thanks so much for taking the time to review!

**Alejavc07: **Yep, I'm back, though truthfully for a while there I did forget about this story! But, I remembered, so that's the main point :D I'm glad you're glad that I'm back, because it means you want to read more! Thanks so much for taking the time to review!

**xxxMiss-Bella-Swanxxx: **haha, I know, it took way too long, right? I feel terribly that I forgot! But I'm glad you're glad I'm back, and I'm glad you liked the chapter! Thanks so much for reviewing! It really means a lot to me! :D

**UnderARainbow: **Aw, thank you! I'm glad you think so! I'm glad I updated finally too – I really had no idea where I was going with this story before, but now I think I have a vague idea, so at least my extended sabbatical was sort of well spent :S Hahahahaha! You merged their names! Aww! Haha, yes, I think Chace is definitely better than Grarlie! Baha, no, please don't sick the cops on me! I'll update more regularly, I promise! Thanks for letting me know, I'll work on adding in some more interaction between Grace and the other Baker kids. Yeah, I always thought Mark needed a friend in the movie, because he was left out a lot. Anyway, thanks so much for reviewing!

**DearSunshine: **Haha, thanks, I'm glad you're happy it's back! I hope this chapter had some interaction between John and Grace that you enjoyed and were hedging for :D More will be on it's way :D Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Silverwolfloststar: **Aw, thank you! I'm glad you thought my story was realistic enough to get that kind of reaction from you, though I'm less glad that it hurt your chest and made you sad ;P I'm glad you're interested in reading more! Thanks so much for reviewing and letting me know how you felt :D

**Jordan Lynn 7: **Haha, yep! I'm back! :)

**Hogwartswonderland: **Hey again, thanks so much for reviewing again! Haha, yep, I dropped that hint pretty well, clearly – you latched onto it :D So, I guess you know where it's heading now :D Haha, when could things go right for her when John's involved? He's so exasperating, haha, and he certainly made things difficult for Grace! Though, it's all part of my master plan. Or, my quasi-master plan. He's so outrageous that he makes Grace curious. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D

**Amber and Ruby: **Hi Ruby, thanks so much! I'm super glad you love this story and want to read more! Thanks for taking the time to review – it means a lot to me!

**Sweetest Days: **Hehe, yeah, that's me; a minx – I'm pretty edgy like that ;P I'm so glad you thought it was worth the wait! And I'm glad you're interested in seeing where I'm going with Grace and John! He's definitely going to play a big part in her whole self-discovery thing. Rest assured, it is going to end with Charlie and Grace together. This is definitely a different kind of relationship :D Thanks so much for reviewing again!

**Christinaemerald: **Aw, thank you! I'm super excited that you love it so far and are interested in reading more, even after all this time! Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Sareeoxox:**Thank you! That's really sweet of you – I'm so pleased you really love my story! Thank you so much for letting me know! :D

**Guest: **Baha, I'm glad you love it! And I know! It's obvious to us, but clearly not to Grace :D yep, I agree; they'd definitely be good together :D Aw, thank you! I'm so pleased that you think it's well written! And I'm glad you liked that part with Mark! He's such a sweetie in the movie, so I'll be adding more moments between Grace and him, as well as the other Baker kids :D thanks so much for letting me know! And for reviewing! :D

**Kitcool: **Thank you! I'm glad you love it and I'm glad you're interested in reading more, and hence want me to continue! Thank you so much for taking the time to review!

**BlueWillow29: **Thank you so much! I'm glad you really like my story, and that you think my writing style is good and easy to read! Sometimes, I'm sure I'm writing in circles and not getting to the point, or it's not making any sense, so you just made me feel way better :D I'm pleased you think my characters are interesting! John is certainly fun to write with Grace! Thanks so much for taking the time to review!

**Emilee: **Aw, thank you! I'm stoked you're enjoying it so far and want to read more, even though I feel like it's essentially plotless at the moment, haha! Thank you so much for taking the time to review!

**Mandie . Leigh . 44: **Thank you, I'm glad you like it so far :D that's great that you want to see what happens in the next chapters! Yes! Mark's so adorable and he definitely needs a friend! Haha, you're right about the breakup being inevitable! It's definitely on the horizon! Thank you so much for reviewing and letting me know all that! It means a lot to me, and I'm glad you like that I've kept Beth as his girlfriend for now :D

**Ali: **Haha, sorry! I feel terribly about it taking me so long, but I guess your blind faith was well placed this time, huh? Thanks so much for reviewing and letting me know that – it'll stick in my mind now, and make me update faster for sure because I felt so bad! :D

**AnimalLoverGirl: **I'm glad you wanted an update, and hopefully you enjoyed it! Thanks so much :D

**CandyCaneKisses101: **Aw, thank you! I'm so stoked that you think it's the best Charlie OC story ever! That's really nice of you to write! I'm pleased you like it so far! And thank you so much for PMing me – I replied to your PM as – it was really sweet of you to do that as well as review, so thank you so much! It makes my day to know you're that interested in reading more! Thank you! :D

**Grizzlybear1018: **Aw, thank you for informing me! I'm so stoked you've loved reading it! Haha, Charlie's definitely not going anywhere- he's here to stay, him and all his gorgeousness, haha! I'm so pleased you think this is a good Charlie OC story! I love him too, he's soo gorgeous! :P I'll definitely keep writing more, so long as people are interested in reading it! I'm soy! I'll try, I'll try. If it's ever taking me too long, or you think I might have forgotten, feel free to PM me, telling me how annoyed you am that it's taking so long :D Thank you so much for reviewing. And I'm totally taking that cherry, by the way :D

**Guest: **Thank you! I'm glad that I hold onto the main aspects of the film, but base her story on different events unique to her life :D Aw, you're too sweet! You'll overinflate my ego, you know, if you write stuff like that! I'm thrilled you feel as though you're reading published work, but I think you're being too generous :D thank you so much! I'm so glad you like the story so far and want to read more!

**And thanks to RuthWritesStuff for bugging me again to write this chapter! Thank you!**


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